The Bodyguard
by LadyxB
Summary: AU: Han is hired as a personal bodyguard for Leia when he saves Bail's life during a visit to Alderaan. Under the disguise as a possible consort for the princess, neither Han or Leia are very happy with the situation. Rated T for now.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I've been thinking of this story idea for awhile now, but I've always been hesitant to write an AU. It is the start of a longer piece and I hope you all enjoy!**

Han Solo planned to land on Alderaan and get off as soon as possible. He was making the stop as a favor to his copilot and best friend, Chewie, who wanted to stop by the planet to visit an old friend of his. Han agreed more out of procrastination than anything else as he still hadn't paid Jabba the Hutt back since his last run went bad and he had to space the smuggled goods. The slime bag wasn't the most accepting sentient in the galaxy and Han wasn't looking forward to meeting with him.

Alderaan was at least a beautiful planet and Han thought he could take the opportunity to stretch his legs and walk around the main part of town. They made a smooth landing, planned to meet back up in a few hours, and started into town. After departing from Chewie, Han looked around him. The sky was a clear, bright blue; a gentle wind blew through the air, sweet-smelling of spring, trees looming high above. Storefronts mixed in with various restaurants and cafes, people walked up and down the street, laughing and chattering.

The war had yet to reach Alderaan it seemed. The king and his young daughter were the pride of the planet. They believed in peace, goodness, and justice for all, but were forced to remain in relative silence so as not to attract unwanted attention from the Empire. The planet had the good fortune of stability and wealth that had thus far acted as their protection.

As a smuggler and man-of-the-galaxy, Han liked to keep informed of the various governments and ideals of all of the planets, just in case he ever needed to make a stop somewhere, he'd know what was in store for him. That was the extent of his knowledge, or more so, interest behind politics, whatever could help him and nothing more. He had no desire to engage in heated discussions over who the next president might be, or which monarch was settling down with another. He was born in Corellia, but thought of himself tied down more to his ship and maybe Chewie when he was feeling generous.

Alderaan was not a fan of smuggling, but Han didn't feel threatened because he was here on a visit, not a run. As he walked down the street, he tried to remember what the king and princess looked like. It had been a few years since he had seen the planet on the news anyways. He and Chewie had just finished off one of their more successful runs and were celebrating in a bar somewhere in the Outer Rim.

The holonews had been covering the funeral of a queen who had died too young, her husband and daughter standing side-by-side somber and dressed all in black. Taking a swig of his ale, he had thought it funny that while both looked sad and serious, neither were in tears, odd for a young girl who had just lost her mother. With a shrug of his shoulders and a distracting growl from his wookiee counterpart, Han had turned away and never gave it a second thought.

He strolled down the street, nodding his head at the constant flow of people who walked by him smiling. Nowhere to go and nothing to do, Han wondered if there would be a place to get a drink around here. He was feeling a little out of place, but doubted there was a spacer's bar around. An hour into his walk, he had stopped only in two stores, one to pick up a few fresh white shirts, and another where he bought spare parts for the Falcon. Growing hungrier by the second, Han settled on one of the smaller cafes that offered outdoor seating.

He was finishing up the spiciest Alderaani dish he could find on the menu, swigging the last sip of his gizer, when he saw something out of the corner of his eye that did not fit in with the rest of the scene. Instincts tingling, he jumped up from his seat, threw a bunch of credits onto the table, grabbed his bags, and ran to the edge of the street.

People were shouting now, crowding the street, and straining their necks to see something off in the distance. His curiosity sparked, Han looked around him, and rather than seeing fear lining the faces of the Alderaani people, they were smiling. Relaxing, he realized people were yelling in excitement. Han rolled his eyes and went to turn around, but found himself locked in with the crowd. No amount of elbowing or pushing through was working, despite his height, so he decided to stand tight and see what was happening.

He turned to the man closest to him who looked less excitable than the rest.

Han nudged him. "What's going on?"

The man was short and had to strain his neck to glance up at Han. "It's the king's fleet." He squinted his eyes. "You're not from here, are you?"

Han shook his head.

The man squeezed his hands together, excitement etched on his face. "Oh, it's your lucky day! The king only comes through town once a month. What are the odds?"

"Joy." He turned from the man with a dismissive nod and rolled his eyes towards the fleet. It was growing closer, almost in front of his direct eye-sight, when a man broke out from the rest of the crowd. Han saw a quick view of the man's face, young and blonde, innocent except for the look of determination that now lined his face.

Han's body reacted before his mind recognized what was happening. He dropped his purchases, pushed through the crowd with immense force, and lunged at the man who was reaching into his pocket. He tackled him to the ground before the guards of the king's fleet even realized there had been a threat. The man's blaster fell to the ground in front of them and Han kicked it away. He kicked him in the stomach to keep him down. The guards at this point caught up and surrounded them.

Han threw his hands in the air when one of the guards hit him in the ribs with the butt of his gun.

"It wasn't me, krethin' idiot. I was the one who saved him."

The crowd began to cheer and Han wished he had never landed on the planet. The guards cuffed the man and tossed him into one of the vehicles. Thinking it was best to get out of the spotlight as soon as possible, he stooped down to collect his things and went to turn away, but a guard grabbed him again.

"Hey!"

"Sir, I'm sorry, but the king would like to speak with you."

Han blanched. "The king? No thanks. Listen, everything's settled here and I'm glad to have helped really, but I gotta go. Things to do."

The guard nudged him, harder this time. "But I insist."

Han found himself sitting in the middle of a cushy ship used for everyday travel, across from the king. They stared at each other. Han did not like the look the king gave him. It was more considering than he preferred.

"So uh, no disrespect your highness uh-"

"Bail."

Han nodded. "Bail, right. But uh, I have to meet up with a friend of mine in a few minutes and he doesn't like it when I'm late. Thinks I'm getting myself into trouble, see."

"Chewbacca the wookiee, no?"

Han's eyes glazed over in momentary shock, but recovered soon after. "How do you know that?"

"Are you not Han Solo?"

"I-"

"I am the old friend of Chewbacca's who he visited earlier today. I was just on my way back and wished to check in on my town where you just so happened to be. Lucky for me."

"Yeah, sure. How'd you know who I am?"

Bail laughed in good nature. "Chewbacca showed me a few holos from over the years. Of his wife and child. You were in a few."

With a roll of his eyes, Han spoke. "The big lug's a sensitive type. But really I should be going. We gotta get out of here."

"To see Jabba the Hutt?"

"Chewie told you? It's not a big deal. Just a-ah-just a deal gone bad. Nothing I can't sort out."

"You have to pay him a great sum of money?"

Han didn't answer.

"I want to repay you for saving my life."

Han shook his head. "It wasn't a big deal, I told you. Anyone woulda done it."

Bail chuckled again. "No one reacted quite as fast as you. Even my own trained and paid guards realized what was happening. If it hadn't been for you, I would have died. And for it to have been you of all people. Don't you find that odd?"

"Coincidental sure."

"Do you believe in faith, Captain Solo?"

Han didn't want to insult the king, so he chose not to answer.

"Because I do. Having needed to be saved for the first time on my own planet, ever, on the day my old friend visits me for the first time in eighteen years, by the close companion of that very friend? I find it more than coincidental."

Han brushed it off. "Look, I can't take your money. Not for that. Consider it a favor for a friend-of-a-friend."

"What if, besides just the money, I offer you work?"

"Ah-"

"And in payment for your help, for just five months at the most, I pay off the hutt for you. Make sure everything is settled. You would never even have to face him. And, for added measure, I will of course pay you an additional stipend."

Han leaned back against the seat. It wasn't something he would normally consider, not liking to be tied down, but this he found intriguing.

"I'd have to talk to Chewie. Before I can decide anything."

Bail relaxed against his seat. "Of course. Take all the time you need. But know this, Captain Solo. This isn't an offer I'm extending just for your benefit. I'm afraid your instincts are much too valuable for me to let slip by me."

"Why?" Han couldn't contain his bluntness.

"After my conversations with Chewbacca, I feel as though I can be open with you. Is that correct?"

Han nodded.

"I understand that you are not actively involved in Imperial or Rebellion matters."

"I got no business in that. Easier to stick with just me."

Bail nodded. "Yes, but there does come a time when one has to act."

Han tried not to sit forward in his seat, but he was intrigued.

Bail continued, "And as much as I would like to keep those actions underground, if we want results, those actions will not always be able to be hidden. One must protect those most important to them."

"Which is?"

"My daughter, Captain Solo. The princess. She has already involved herself far too deep than I ever intended or wanted. But she is an adult now, and I'm afraid I cannot do much to detain her any further. She will want to continue helping the rebellion and there has already been too close a call for me to sleep comfortably at night."

"Where do I come into this?" Han was pretty sure he already knew.

"You will act as a bodyguard for her. She will not like it, but if she wishes to continue aiding the rebellion, it is the only way I will allow it."

"Won't it look suspicious if she has a guard following her around all of a sudden?"

Bail laughed. "See, I was correct. You are intuitive." He paused, looking at Han."It will look suspicious, which is why you will be here, living in the castle, under the guise of a potential consort for the princess. Being of age, it is the time where she would start thinking of marriage. While it is the farthest thing from her mind at the moment, it will do as a good cover and a nice distraction for the planet."

"People will be so excited thinking they got a royal marriage on their hands and the Imps won't bother inspecting anything further."

"Exactly."

Han looked out the window. He had a lot to consider. Judging by how he and Bail were old friends, Han guessed how Chewie would feel about all of this.

"What about Chewie? Wookiee's don't exactly fit in."

"He can stay here. Simply as a guest. No one will give him a second look next to you."

Han nodded. "Alright, but I still need to meet up with him. Let him know what's been going on."

"Chewbacca has already been informed. He will be meeting us at the castle."

They sat in silence for the rest of the trip. Han watched as all of the green and trees passed by the window. After a few minutes, he could see the castle looming in the distance.

Han looked back towards Bail who had been sitting with his eyes closed.

"Uh, sir? Your highness?" The ship was pulling into the driveway of the castle.

Bail opened his eyes and smiled. "Yes, Captain Solo?"

The ship came to a stop and the driver scurried to open the doors.

"I don't remember her name."

"Whose name?"

"The princess."

Bail chuckled. "It's Leia. And look, she has come to greet us."

Han rolled the name on his tongue, trying it out. He looked out as the door opened and saw his first glimpse of the princess in years and in person. She was no longer a child. He turned back to Bail. "Why does she look so angry?"


	2. Chapter 2

Leia could not believe the gall of her father. She was twenty-one years old now. An undercover member of the Rebellion, she had even played a small role in the destruction of the Death Star. Granted, there had been a slight mishap and she had almost been captured, but she escaped and the Empire was none the wiser. Unfortunately, though the Rebellion succeeded in this particular victory, the Empire was still at large. Rumors ran rampant about the construction of a second Death Star. Leia believed that soon she was going to join the Rebellion as an official member. Her father appeared certain to keep her from it.

He had hired her a bodyguard.

Leia did not know much about the pilot, but from what she heard, he was not exactly the gentleman type. Her best friend Winter told her a few moments before she saw her father's ship pulling into the driveway of the castle. Winter had heard from one of the cooks who heard from another source and so on. Leia seemed to be the last to know and she was livid.

Han Solo was a known smuggler! Best friends with a wookiee, he called no place home and traveled around the galaxy, leaving trouble in his wake. Then Winter had told her about Solo's trouble with Jabba the Hutt. Leia blanched in shock. He may have saved her father's life, and for that she would be ever appreciative, but no way was she going to allow that scoundrel to follow her around everywhere. Winter had also informed her of Solo's romantic reputation and if he even thought of claiming her as one of his conquests, she was going to kill him.

She stood in the grand doorway of the castle, waiting to pounce at the first moment. Leia thought if she could get to the matter right away, she might be able to stop it. Her father looked a little afraid as he stepped out of the ship.

As he rightly should, she thought to herself.

When Han Solo followed behind her father, she forgot for a moment to be angry. He was a handsome man- ruffled hair, strong body, tight fitting pants. As he came closer, he looked up at her for the first time. His eyes were the brightest hazel she had ever seen and for a moment she forgot to breathe. And that smile. Her stomach dropped. It was infuriating.

She remembered her purpose as they met her at the door. Turning her attention from Han, she looked at her father and glared.

For his part, her father didn't hesitate. "Leia, this is Captain Han Solo of the Millenium Falcon. He is a friend of the wookiee Chewbacca. We have something very important to discuss, but judging from the look on your face, I think you already know what it is I have to say. Why don't we step inside and let Captain Solo get acclimated. We can continue the conversation in a more comfortable part of the castle."

Not breaking her icy gaze, she stuck her hand out to Han. Her handshake was firm and diplomatic. She had years of practice. Solo took her hand and grasped it with equal firmness. For this, she was surprised and turned back to him. He smirked at her. Leia found it difficult not to roll her eyes. Instead, she nodded.

"Captain Solo, pleasure to meet you, I'm sure. I hope you enjoy your stay at the castle. Father, I will meet you in your office in twenty minutes."

Before either could offer a response, she turned on her heel and walked briskly away from them.

Leia flung herself onto her bed. Her bedroom remained mostly as it was from childhood. Milky white walls with soft pink flowers spread randomly across, her large canopy bed lay in the middle of the room, silky white sheets and comforter, with pink lace falling on the sides. A large white dresser stood opposite her bed, a vast closet next to it storing countless dresses and shoes that were required of a princess and senator. The window to the left of her bed looked out to the castle gardens, seeming to stretch on forever, with brilliant flowers and trees, both native and from other planets.

No pictures lined her walls. Posters of childhood crushes and favorite holofilms had long since been removed. The only picture that remained lay on top of the nightstand next to her bed. It was one of her, her father, her mother, and Winter. It had been of happier, more peaceful times before her mother fell ill. Lifting her head from the bed, she looked up at the photo.

She sighed, overcome with a longing she had tried to repress for a long time. Turning to look out the window, Leia smiled seeing the sun start to fade, illuminating the garden. Alderaan offered so much more than beauty, but sometimes, when she had those few rare moments to herself, she would look around to truly appreciate the wonders of the galaxy.

It was the feeling of hope inspired by these moments that kept Leia going, fighting, aspiring for a better future. She wanted nothing more than to join the Rebellion fulltime, but to do so would be to put her entire family, her planet, at risk. If the Empire knew of her ideals, they would try to destroy her and everyone and everything she held dear. For now, it was pivotal to keep her beliefs and roles secret. In the back of her mind, she supposed her father was doing what he thought was best.

She just wondered why it had to be Han Solo of all people. Not having known him for all of the few seconds it took them to be introduced, she felt a combination of feelings ripple through her. Dislike that stemmed from her aversion to the situation, suspicion at hearing of his reputation, and a twinge of attraction that she was trying to ignore.

While she had dated in the past, nothing had been all that serious, and now she didn't have the time or energy to be in a relationship. Romance would have to wait, but that was all part of the reason they were fighting.

Leia laid down on her back, lifted her arms above her head with her legs straight. Taking a deep breath, she held the air in, her eyes closed, and slowly let it out. Doing this a few more times, she laid down for a second more before standing up and heading out the door.

It was time to talk to her father and this Han Solo character.

She walked through the castle. Part of the deal between her and her father when she was younger and wanted to become involved in the senate, was that office and home life must always remain separate. It was this reason why she didn't have a desk in her room. Instead, she had an office adjoined to her father's, on the other side of the castle. To get there, she had to walk along a brightly lit hallway a good ways away. She never minded the walk because it always gave her a chance to clear her head, whether it be from work to everyday life, or everyday life to work.

Leia continued her breathing exercises as she walked, her hand gliding across the glazed mahogany wood of the walls as she passed. Peering outside, she saw it was almost completely dark now. She sighed, wondering how the day had passed her by so fast.

Reaching the end of the corridor, she stopped before stepping into the office area. She could hear voices, her father's, Han Solo's, and the easily recognized whuffing of a wookiee. Leia noted it must have been Chewbacca, but she had never before met him.

With one last deep breath, she stepped inside.

"Father, I believe we have something to discuss."

Bail smiled at her and she thought the shine was a little too bright considering the situation.

"Yes, dear. Why don't you sit down next to Captain Solo?"

Leia declined the offer without a word. She stood aside the chairs, one empty meant for her, and the other two occupied by Solo and the lumbering wookiee. The office was large, brown, and windowless. Belonging to her father, two bookshelves stood behind the desk where her father now sat, filled with old books and records. His desk was a mess, but somehow, she had no idea how, organized. A lamp, datapad, and two picture frames sat on his desk. Leia knew that the pictures were of her and her mother. Another stab of longing flowed through her, but she shook it off. Now was not the time for nostalgic pining.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw the door leading to her own office. It was much more organized, not a pencil or piece of paper out of order, and there were no pictures. She did not have time for distractions at her place of work.

Leia looked straight at her father. Her look told him, _as you will_.

Bail chuckled at her determination.

"Leia, as I am sure you know already, I have asked Captain Solo and Chewbacca to work and live here at the castle for an undetermined amount of time. I do not believe you have met Chewbacca yet. Chewbacca, my daughter Leia. Leia, Chewbacca."

The pair nodded at one another.

"Yes, well. I have hired them as an extra precaution as your involvement in the Rebellion becomes much more pressing. Captain Solo and Chewbacca, while they have not openly shown support for the Rebellion themselves, assure me that they have no sympathy for the Empire. I am inclined to believe them."

Leia trusted her father. She also was someone who relied heavily on her own perceptions because over the years, she had found to be quite intuitive. At the moment, she did not feel threatened. Annoyed, yes, but not uneasy.

Bail continued. "Before I say what it is we both know I am going to, I urge you to keep an open mind. Rather than prevent you from having any further involvement with the Rebellion-"

Leia opened her mouth to argue, but Bail held up a hand. She remained silent.

"I understand and support your beliefs, I _share_ them, and therefore I cannot in good conscience keep the Rebellion from such an outstanding leader."

She felt a blush rising in her cheeks.

"In this case, and under such _coincidental_ circumstances, I feel as though Captain Solo and Chewbacca will make excellent additions to our security team."

Leia could no longer help herself. "As babysitters?"

A touch of humor gleamed in Bail's eyes. "I would not quite use that term, but I suppose along those lines. While Chewbacca will remain here under the guise of an old friend visiting another, I am afraid Captain Solo's presence might bring some added excitement."

She felt her stomach jounce. He couldn't possibly be going where she thought he was.

"To keep the Empire's suspicions under wraps, and as an added benefit to Alderaan who will appreciate the distraction, Captain Solo is here under the impression of competing for your affections."

He went there.

"He is now an official consort, courting you for the next few months as you consider your future. Obviously, no expectations of marriage at the moment are legitimate, but the two of you must act as such."

Leia felt the beginning of a very bad migraine coming. She looked to Solo to gage his reaction. The damned smuggler was smirking at her. He was enjoying this way too much. She turned back to her father.

"The story goes that Captain Solo has been acting as your personal pilot for the past few months, and the two of you have taken a particular interest in one another. The pair of you then came to me to ask for my permission. Since Captain Solo has no royal ties of which we know, this is something I must seriously consider and the decision will be ongoing. Captain Solo must meet my approval, the approval of the planet, and of course, keep your affection."

Leia grimaced.

"When the time comes when he will no longer be of service, the two of you may have a clean break, stating that the delayed marriage was an excellent idea and the two of you realized you did not wish to be married."

Leia spoke after a long, awkward moment of silence. "I suppose there is nothing I can say to change your mind?"

Bail's face was serious. "I am afraid not, darling. It is the only way at the moment I can think of to protect you. Captain Solo is of course, a captain, and can fly you to and from the Rebel base at times when you are most needed and safest. It is the best I can offer you."

With a nod, Leia swiped at her forehead and took another deep breath. "Alright, then. When will the formal announcement be made?"

"Sometime in the morning. Dinner will be ready in the next few hours and until then, I think it is vital that you and Captain Solo get to know each other a lot better."

Bail smirked and motioned to the wookiee who stood up from his chair.

"Chewbacca and I will continue catching up as the pair of you talk in private. After all, if you are going to be married, you best know what you're in store for."

Watching as her father and the wookiee walked away, laughing and chattering in good humor, Leia could not remember a time she had held so much resentment towards her father. And on the day when she had almost lost him. It didn't seem right.

Hesitating, she stood in place for another moment, staring after their retreating forms. With utmost reluctance, she turned towards Solo and sat down in the chair next to him.

"Captain Solo-"

"Han."

"Excuse me?"

Han rolled his eyes. "Call me Han. Engaged to-be couples don't go around callin' one another by their formal titles, princess."

Her eyes rolled upwards at the way he denounced her title.

"You're right, Han. But please just call me Leia."

"Whatever you say your Royal Highnessness."

Leia wanted to hit him. She settled for a glare. Han laughed in response.

"Alright, princess. Where do ya want to start?"

Cringing at the title again, Leia frowned. A thought struck her and she smirked as she looked him up and down.

"Well, _captain_. First things first, if anyone is going to believe that you are courting me, and that I might even seriously consider such an option for even a second, I do believe you will have to change your attire."

Han looked down at himself and frowned. "Whattya mean change? What's wrong with my clothes?"

Leia sighed and stood up from the chair. "My father is right. We do have a lot to cover. Follow me."

Pausing in momentary disbelief, Han stood up from his own chair. After recovering, he shook his head and followed the princess out of the office.


	3. Chapter 3

This was a disaster. Leia had hoped that after spending some time with Solo, the two would gain a better understanding of one another and might even become friends once they got over the awkwardness of the situation. But the man was infuriating.

They were standing together in front of the mirror in one of the guest bedrooms now designated as Solo's. When she had first led him to the bedroom, he had informed her in a serious tone that it was much too soon in their budding relationship to try to get him into bed. It was difficult for Leia not to elbow him in the stomach. She turned on her heel to grab some adequate clothing that would have to suffice until she could get him to a store.

When she returned, Han was lying on the bed, propped up on his elbow and smiling at her return.

"Now that I think about it princess, it's never too soon."

He patted the spot next to him. When Leia sauntered over, his eyes widened, not expecting this response from her. She leaned down close to him and went to whisper in his ear. Han paused, curious as to what she was going to say, but then Leia pushed him over hard and dropped the clothes on top of him.

Han stood up laughing and when he went into his bathroom, he thought he heard her mumbling something that sounded like "blithering idiot."

Leia was growing tired of her attempts to dress Han like a suitable human being. He could not be separated from his blood stripe pants. And when she asked him, in what she thought was a nice gesture at making conversation, how he had come to earn those stripes, Han refused to answer.

This lead Leia to assume that rather from an act of honor, he had stolen them somehow. It seemed logical considering his already iffy reputation. When she told him so, because she just couldn't help herself, he shrugged his shoulders and laughed her off.

His face turned somber when she held out a new shirt for him.

"No way."

"Captain Solo, this must be the fifteenth shirt I have held out to you that you refused. Can you please just wear something decent?"

"It has ruffles."

"It's debonair. The color will bring out your eyes."

He looked down at her. "You've noticed my eyes, huh? Are they _debonair_?" He winked and turned back towards the mirror.

When she saw him smirking at her in the reflection of the mirror, this time she did elbow him in the stomach.

He bent over in mock hurt. "Ow, Your Highness. Aren't you supposed to show more dignity than that?"

Leia sat down heavily on the bed, her arms and legs crossed tightly around her. "This is not some dinner at a random space bar cantina. You have to look presentable. And it will be good prepping for tomorrow's press conference."

Han had been holding the light green ruffled dress shirt in front of him, inspecting it like it was some animal carcass Chewie had brought home as a midnight snack, when his head snapped up to meet her eyes.

"Press conference?" Leia mused that a vein bulged above his left eye when he was perturbed.

"Of course. We have to announce our courtship to the galaxy." She smiled at him sweetly, but frowned when he tossed the shirt aside.

"I don't do public speaking."

"You won't have to. Just stand beside me and try to look pretty."

He was grimacing and Leia couldn't help but feel a shot of joy at knowing she had caused such an expression.

"Can't they just announce it without us there?"

"Oh Gods no. Alderaan especially needs to see their new hero. If anyone is going to take this relationship seriously, and they better because the fate of the galaxy is resting on this illusion- Gods help us all- then you need to come across well and gain their affection."

"I didn't sign up to be the new poster boy."

"Actually, you did." Leia uncrossed herself and stood up from the bed. Her smile was bright and shining, but her eyes held a glint of mischief in them. "Now, if you have to wear those pants then fine, I suppose I can compromise, but wear that shirt or the one I make you wear tomorrow will be so much worse!"

* * *

><p>The damned shirt was itchy as hell. He thought it was the last thing he ever wanted to wear, and told the princess so, but when she started threatening something about silk, he shrugged it on, realizing it might be his safest option.<p>

The palace dining table was larger and more glamorous than any he had ever seen. It was a glazed mahogany with delicate, exquisite carvings made in the side and on the legs. But it appeared to be but a small dot compared to the vast dining room they were currently sitting in.

Han had thus far been surprised by the king and his daughter.

Although they clearly lived a life of luxury, they did not act like it. They were close to one another and treated everyone who they had come in contact with-friends and servants- with utmost kindness and respect.

Except the princess did not seem to take a liking to him. Han grinned at that. He liked riling her up. But their outward demeanors were very plain, especially for royalty, and Han found that he liked them despite himself.

Bail had worn much more extravagant clothing having been out and about in the planet, but once he returned home, he had changed into simple black slacks and a light blue button-up shirt. The princess, who he assumed would be decked out in a fancy dress and expensive jewelry, was wearing a pale khaki skirt and a red polo shirt. She wore only a silver necklace with a charm Han could not get a clear look at from this angle and a bracelet. The minimum of makeup made up her face.

The only extravagant thing about her was her hair. Han thought the two braided buns on either side of her face were ridiculous, but she somehow pulled it off. He found her adorable.

Even though the room was big with huge glass stain windows on either side and a ceiling high above them with intricate paintings of clouds and angels, the dinner guests sat close together. If he forgot where he was for a moment, and focused in on the present party, he wouldn't even notice they were in a castle.

Han was sitting beside Chewie and one of the Organa's close family friend's, Winter. Bail sat at the head of the table with his mother across from Chewie and the princess sitting between himself and Winter on the opposite side. She did not look pleased with this, but because it had been decided that her grandmother could not be let in on the secret because she could not keep secrets, Han and Leia even had to pretend to be a couple within palace walls.

They were in the middle of a delicious five-course meal when Grandma Organa interrupted for the third time with the same question. They had tried to derail her each time, but she grew ever persistent. She was having a difficult time wrapping her head around her granddaughter possibly marrying a space pilot, but she had taken a liking to Han despite his profession.

"So tell me again how the two of you fell in love?"

Han looked up from his nerfsteak to examine the older woman. She had olive skin and looked a lot like the older, female version of her son. With dark brown hair and a heavily make-upped, wrinkled face, the woman's big personality matched her spunky appearance. Having married into royalty, her son took the throne upon her husband's death, but so long as she didn't lose her royal life, she had no interest in politics.

Han found that he liked her a lot. Staring at her a moment longer between the pause it took for someone to answer her once again, he noted that Leia was much paler than her father and grandmother.

It was Bail who answered. "Captain Solo has been working as Leia's pilot for the past few months and have fallen in love."

He smiled at them. The grandmother did not seem appeased. "And you think this is appropriate?"

She eyed Solo. When he winked at her with a smirk, she giggled. He saw Leia roll her eyes from his side perspective. This made his smirk wider.

Bail coughed. "While I do believe that the relationship is sudden, especially for marriage level, if Leia does indeed love him and wish to marry him, and Captain Solo turns out to be as true as a character as he seems, then yes, of course I will consent to it."

"Well, he _is_ quite handsome." She eyed Han again and let out a loud chuckle.

Chewie guffawed and Han made a mental note to tell him off for this later. This was after all, entirely his fault.

They were silent for several minutes and Han thought that finally the woman was satiated with her curiosity. He was wrong.

"Leia, dear. How _did_ the two of you fall in love? He looks tough, but I bet he's a big old softy romantic on the inside. _Isn't he_?"

Grandma Organa elbowed Leia playfully to emphasize her point. Leia looked mortified. "Grandmother, I hardly think this is appropriate conversation for dinner. And besides, I thought you didn't approve."

Her grandmother looked disappointed. "I never said I didn't approve, dear. I merely wanted to check the facts. This all seems so sudden. But he's such a stud! I can see why now!"

Leia's cheeks reddened considerably, but she did not offer a response.

"Fine, fine. You don't want to tell your old grandma all the naughty details. I'll sniff it out of you later!"

Han watched Leia's expression change, gleefully. She looked like if there hadn't been a full plate of food in front of her, and if it wouldn't be so undignified, Leia would smack her head down onto the table. Grandma Organa was the best thing in the castle.

Conversation turned to politics and the war and what exactly had happened in town earlier in the day. Grandma Organa's adoration of Han grew even stronger when she remembered how he had saved Bail's life. He was pretty sure that if she didn't think he was almost engaged to her granddaughter, she might be asking him to marry her. She might be a heck of a lot simpler to deal with, he thought as he looked over at Leia.

The princess was wearing what seemed to be an ever-present frown on her face, her eyebrows creased in concentration. Han assumed her legs were crossed tightly, but couldn't tell for sure as they were under the table.

"That was a mighty brave thing for you to do today," Grandma Organa gushed. She turned to Leia. "Oh my dear, you picked yourself a hero! I never knew you had such taste in you! You usually go for such _stuffy_ characters."

Leia turned a darker crimson and this time, she couldn't keep her mouth shut. "Grandmother, my other suitors were not _stuffy_. They were respectable gentleman, princes, who offered much to this galaxy, but were not the right match for me." Han added "unfortunately" in his head.

Winter giggled next to Han. "Except for Randolf of course."

Leia shot Winter a glare but she continued to laugh. Han noticed Bail give both girls a look, before turning to look back at Leia. Her cheeks were flushed and she looked somehow even angrier than before.

He spoke up. "Who's Randolf?"

Grandma Organa answered. "The Prince of the Darada System and Leia's first crush! Whatever did happen to Randolf? He always seemed to be around, but these last few years, he disappeared."

Leia sat up straighter in her chair. "Randolf has many military responsibilities and could no longer afford to spend his time gallivanting back and forth for visits."

Grandma Organa raised her eyebrows. "Rebellion business? Imperial? Oh I wish it all would stop. It's just going to cause more trouble."

Everyone looked at one another before quickly bowing their heads back down to their dessert. Grandma Organa did not notice and continued speaking.

"I never liked Randolf much anyways. He was always so high and mighty and was always talking about politics. I asked him once if he had seen one of the latest popular holofilms and he looked at me like I was crazy for delving into such artistic leisures. And he always turned Leia into such a blubbering, blabbering boring idiot who pretended she didn't care to waste time on the arts either. Solo is much more interesting dear." She patted Leia on the shoulder.

Bail stepped in because Leia looked prime to answer. "Yes, well. No need commenting on Randolf without him here to defend himself. Leia and Han are happy now and that's all that matters."

Han thought Leia looked a little sad, but she hid her emotions well.

No one spoke for the rest of the dinner and after the after-dinner kaffe, Han felt exhausted. It had been a long day and so much had happened. Leia requested to speak to her father after dinner, and though Grandma Organa looked disappointed that neither her or Han offered one another a goodnight kiss, Han was glad for the excuse to go to sleep.

With a kiss and a squeeze on the cheek, Grandma Organa patted him appreciatively and motioned towards Leia. In a loud voice she said, "Now, now. My bedroom's between the two of yours and in no way do I want to catch one of you trying to sneak into the other's room."

Her tone of voice said quite the opposite and she winked at each of them. Winter laughed again, told Leia she would see her in a few minutes, and left the dining hall. Nodding his head towards Bail and Leia, Han followed Chewie out of the room and towards each of their bedrooms.

Standing in the hallway, Han turned towards Chewie. "I dunno what we got ourselves into here, pal, but I gotta feeling that facing Jabba might have been the easier choice."

Chewie growled in good humor. "Yeah, yeah I know he's an old friend. I like em too, but it all seems so, complicated. Did you know I have to go to some press conference tomorrow?"

Han weaved his fingers through his hair. "I'm not the poster boy type, Chewie. Maybe we should try and get this Randolf back in the picture. Better him than me."

Chewie laughed again and ruffled Han's hair. "Alright, well I'm wiped. I'll see you in the morning."

After Han undressed and finished up in the fresher, he stood in front of his bed. It was the largest bed he had ever seen, never mind that belonged to him. The sheets were white and looked inviting and warm. The rest of the room was very bare, but nevertheless royally elegant.

He threw himself down onto the bed and pulled the covers up over him. His last thought was of Leia and how he liked seeing the rosy tint in her cheeks when she got all worked up.


	4. Chapter 4

Han opened his eyes to find giant golden orbs looming just above his head. Jumping up and reaching for his blaster, he came face to face with a protocol droid. He hated droids.

Sitting up with his back against the pillows, Han's voice was gruff from having just been awakened, and in such a manner. "Can I help you?"

The droid looked alarmed by Han's tone, but answered right away. "Oh yes, sir. Captain Solo, let me introduce myself. I am C-3PO, human cyborg relations to the Royal House of Organa."

Han stared at him. "What the kest are you doing in my room?"

"I am quite sorry sir, but Princess Leia asked me to come in here and wake you up. The two of you must soon get ready for the press conference."

With an incredulous expression, Han rolled his eyes. "The princess told you to come in here?"

"Yes, sir. The wookiee Chewbacca seemed quite happy to awaken you himself, but the princess insisted it be me. Of course, I do not mind it as I am here to assist you in any way now that you are to become a part of the House of Organa."

Waving him off, Han went to stand up from the bed. "Yeah, yeah. Get out of here, I have to get dressed." He made it halfway to the fresher when he stopped and turned back towards the droid. He raised his finger as he spoke. "And from now on, if Chewie says he'll wake me up, just let him."

3-PO looked alarmed. "But sir! I cannot ignore a direct order-"

Han pointed his finger at the door. "Out!"

As he slammed the door to the fresher, he could hear the droid blubbering to himself. When he heard the door to the bedroom close, Han peaked out to make sure the droid had really left.

Standing in front of the sink, he turned the water on and looked at himself in the mirror. He had to admit, he hadn't slept so well in years. He loved the Falcon, it was his home, but after sleeping in the castle last night, he knew it was time to invest in a new mattress.

It did not take him long to get ready for the day because he figured the princess would want to have a say in dressing him. He took his time though in retaliation for her sending the droid to wake him up. Han had no idea how she could have known about his distaste for droids, but he was certain the princess had done it on purpose.

Han had no idea what to expect from the press conference. He knew that the Organas were important to the planet, they were the planet. He was sure that everyone was expecting her to marry a prince and join the royal house to another, and one day, she would probably do just that. But until this whole thing was over, he was going to have to pretend like he wanted to spend the rest of his life with the princess. And he needed to charm the people of Alderaan.

Compared to the object of his false affections, he thought that part was easy.

He was wondering why the princess hadn't barged in yet to yell at him in her manic tone to get ready faster, when there was a pounding at the door.

Han smirked, walked over to the door, and leaned against it. In a calm voice, he answered, "Can I help you?"

His smirk turned into a full-faced grin when he heard Leia's voice answer him. "Captain Solo, are you almost ready? It took me less time to get ready and I had to do my hair!"

While she sounded like she was trying to remain calm, Han detected a trace of panic in her voice.

He spoke his words in a slow, deliberate voice. "Morning, princess. Sure, I'm almost ready. I'll be out real soon. Just you wai-Hey!"

Leia pushed open the door and almost knocked him over in the process. Han growled at her, "What do you think you're doing? Just because you own the place doesn't mean you and your droid can come barging in here whenever you'd like. I'm supposed to be your guest."

The look she gave him in return was one of reprimand for acting so childish. She rolled her eyes, but answered in a sweet voice. "Sorry, hunny, but I was just so anxious to see you." Closing the door behind her, she turned on him.

"Grandmother is lurking. I think she wants to catch you before you got dressed. Mentioned something about hoping you slept in the nude."

Han and Leia shared a grimace, but looked away quickly. He noticed that while her hair was wound up in an elaborate braid that was thrown up in a bun on the back of her head, she was just wearing a robe.

She continued and he looked back up at her face. "Anyways, I wanted to wake you up early so we can get a head's start on prepping for the press conference. After breakfast, we'll get dressed and father can talk to you about public speaking."

Han eyed her suspiciously. "I thought you said all I had to do was sit and look pretty? I don't want to talk."

"Yes, well, you have to. Trust me, this was not my idea. Father seems to think that you will better endear yourself to the people of Alderaan if you, what did he call it? Oh, right. Just act like yourself." She rolled her eyes. "I don't know why he seems intent on blowing this as it was his idea in the first place."

Han lowered his eyes at her. "Give me some credit here, sweetheart. Just because I said I didn't want to talk doesn't mean I can't talk. I happen to be quite the charmer. You're the only female in this castle who doesn't think so."

"Is that right?" Leia laughed. "How many other women have you ran into in the castle so far?"

"Two," Han said proudly. "Winter and your grandmother."

Leia laughed louder. "Winter bursts into a fit of giggles at any man that comes near her. And grandmother barely counts-"

"Counts more than you do, sweetheart. At least she appreciates when such a gorgeous guy like me is in her presence." He puffed his chest out and gave her a wink. "Can we eat breakfast now, princess? Kest, you're slow."

He walked out of the bedroom smiling to himself, leaving a glowering princess in his wake.

* * *

><p>Much to Leia's dismay, Grandmother Organa joined them at breakfast. It had only been her and Han for the first few minutes, so when the door to the dining hall opened, Leia turned around in gratitude. When she saw it was her grandmother though, she knew things could only get worse. Grandmother Organa stood in the doorway with a wide smile on her face. Leia thought she looked devious. She gave her a suspicious look.<p>

"Morning grandmother."

"Morning dear. Oh! Captain Solo! A good morning to you as well. I trust you slept well in such a comfortable bed?"

Leia heard "in your skivvies" in her head and looked down mortified. When she looked up, Han was smirking again. She hated when he did that.

"Ah yes, definitely. Won't you join us for breakfast?"

Leia implored him with her eyes that it was a bad idea. He ignored her. They both looked up at Grandmother Organa who looked incredibly happy to see the two supposed lovers alone together.

"Oh no, I couldn't possibly interrupt."

"It's breakfast, grandmother. You're not interrupting anything. Besides, we have a busy day ahead of us."

Grandmother Organa looked disappointed as she took a seat beside Leia at the table. "The press conference, yes I remember. Are the two of you excited for sharing your love with the rest of the galaxy?"

She emphasized her point by throwing her arms up in the air, one of which was holding a fork, the other a knife. Leia ducked out of the way.

"Of course." Leia's nod was stiff. Han just shrugged.

Grandmother Organa was not appeased. "For such a _torrid_ love affair, the two of you are awfully reserved in your affection towards one another."

Leia was in the middle of lifting her spoon of oatmeal towards her mouth when she froze. Han choked on his kaffe. "I-I, well. We just-"

"We prefer our privacy," Han intervened. "When we're together, we _know_ that we're in love, we don't have to show it off to anyone else."

Leia smiled at him gratefully. Grandmother Organa looked touched, but she responded, "Nicely put, Captain Solo. I thought I did hear some scurrying in the hallway last night. Someone sneaked into a special someone else's bedroom." She winked at them again.

She looked so gleeful that neither had the heart to dissuade her. Leia continued eating her oatmeal and Han gave Grandmother Organa a wink.

"By the way, Grandma, call me Han. No need for formalities between friends."

Leia thought her grandmother would take offense at being called "grandma" as her and her cousins had always been dissuaded from using such a colloquial term. Her parents had said that it was disrespectful for a queen. Grandmother Organa, however, just beamed brighter.

"Of course, dear. You _are_ a part of our family now."

The rest of breakfast passed by in comfortable silence. Grandmother Organa kept looking between the two of them with a small smile on her face. Leia herself was looking at Han a little differently than she had before. And, she thought,maybe the press conference might just go over better than she expected.

* * *

><p>They finished breakfast and made Grandmother Organa's day when Han took her hand as they walked out, but immediately pulled away once they were out of her view.<p>

Hurrying him along, Leia was all business. He didn't argue when she asked him to wear a navy blue button down shirt and even traded in his bloodstripe pants for a much more professional looking pair of black slacks. She sent him into the fresher and waited patiently, sitting on the edge of his bed.

She was a nervous wreck already. Not only was this moment something she had envisioned since she was a child, but it was also a lie, and one that was pivotal to keep to insure the safety of her, her family and friends, and the planet. If there was any doubt in the minds' of the people of the galaxy that her and Han Solo were in love, they would need to act quickly. She preferred to convince them all in one swoop.

Though Han's response at breakfast had been charming, Grandmother Organa was right. The people of Alderaan would want to see their princess so in love with her new suitor. It would not do for them just to hear about it.

She sighed deeply, tapping her foot in growing impatience. Leia supposed that after the press conference, her and Han would truly need to get to know one another better. They had spent the majority of their limited time together, alone and with others, prepping for every single second of the press conference. Perhaps she would find he was less irritating when the pressure wasn't so high. Today, he had already proved himself tolerable.

But the man was slow. Leia opened her mouth to speak. "Han, I don't mean to rush you, but really we need to meet with father."

The door to the fresher opened and Leia stared at him in shock. He looked devastatingly handsome in the simple outfit. She found herself wondering how he might look in the special royal military uniform he would have to wear at their wedding. She shook the thought of her head. They would never make it that far.

Eyeing him from head to toe, she nodded in appreciation. While Leia liked it when his hair was a bit scruffy and out of place, it didn't look half bad gelled back either. "My, Captain Solo, who knew? You do clean up nicely. We might just be able to charm all of Alderaan and the rest of the galaxy into believing us."

Though handsome, Han looked uncomfortable. "How much longer till we can get this thing over with?"

Leia responded in a mock-soothing voice. "Not much longer, just a few hours. We have about an hour before the press conference that will be held in the royal garden. If you look outside on your way to father's office, you will see they have already set up. Apparently, the town is buzzing in excitement. They have already been talking about the hero who saved their king and now they think some big announcement is coming."

Han scratched at the back of his head and looked down at his new shiny black shoes. "Don't worry, Your Royalness, I still got plenty left in me to mess things up."

"That you do," Leia said, but she offered him a small smile. "Do you remember your way to father's office?"

Han nodded.

"Excellent. Then if you won't mind heading down there on your own, I need to finish getting ready."

Han nodded again and they stepped to the door. He watched as she walked down the hallway and turned into her was the next one down, but the rooms were so big, she seemed like a light year's away. This press conference and mission were not exactly something he was thrilled about, but he figured he'd done a lot worse in much less hospitable conditions. Though he wouldn't admit it, even to himself, he was comforted by the fact that he and Leia were in this together.

Walking down the hallway to the offices, Han couldn't help but feel a little guilty and a lot pressured. If they didn't pull it off today, then security would be shot to hell. If they did somehow convince everyone that they were lovers, then they would be lying to the people Leia held most dear. This was why Han liked to keep at a distance. He didn't have to think about everyone else's feelings.

When he got to Bail's office, he was relieved to find Chewie there. "Hey, ya big lug. Where've you been?"

The wookiee waved at him good naturedly. "Been helping set up for the press conference."

Han was surprised by this. "Yeah? I thought you were supposed to be a guest? Not some random worker."

Chewie chortled. "Don't worry, cub, they're not working me too hard. There've just been a few things up high that are done a lot easier by someone with height. Anyways, I like to help."

Han patted his friend on his shoulder. It was nice to know that he would have someone on his side, no matter what happened.

"I know you do, Chew. Where's the king?"

A voice spoke behind them. "Right here, Captain Solo. My apologies, but I've been hounded with questions all morning."

Han turned around as Bail was speaking. The king looked like he hadn't slept, but was still immaculate and royal.

"I'm sure it's a big day for Alderaan. Do people know what announcement is being made?"

Bail stepped further into the room and walked over to his desk. "Officially, no. But I think they suspect. There have been rumors ever since you saved my life yesterday. Our offices have been spreading a few ourselves, talking about you being Leia's pilot and possibly falling in love."He smiled brilliantly. "I haven't seen Alderaan this excited in a long time."

Han didn't know what to say.

"But enough about such matters as anticipation and speculation. We must go over what you need to say."

Forty-five minutes later, Han felt even less confident than he had been. The words coming out of the king's mouth seemed genuine. He was an excellent, well-trained speaker. When Han tried, the words sounded false coming off his tongue.

Bail assured him that no matter how it was said, so long as Alderaan was under the impression that he was deeply in love with their princess, everything would be fine. The king led the way out of the office and towards the gardens. Before stepping outside, Chewie patted him carefully on the shoulder so as not to mess with his appearance.

"Think I can do this, Chewie?" Han looked up at his friend for reassurance.

Chewie laughed and looked down on him. "No, but you've been known to surprise from time to time."

With that, the doors opened and Han was met with the flickering of lights.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed! I hope you continue to enjoy.**

The press conference went off without a hitch. Han found that if he stared straight ahead towards the biggest camera aimed at him, it wasn't that hard to smile.

Leia took the lead, announcing their romance and a possible marriage. She had surprised him with the easiness she exuded. While he had expected her to be a convincing speaker, he had anticipated that she may not have been the most convincing lover. But she was a good actress.

Between a flurry of giggles and blushes, arm grabbing and kissing his cheeks, she had somehow retained her dignified demeanor and almost convinced even him that they were in love. Her actions were contagious and he felt the fluttering in his stomach relax.

The people at the press conference were eating it up. His heroic act the day before had worked exceptionally in his favor. The fact that he wasn't a prince didn't seem to matter. The few words that he had spoken, simply about his love for the princess and how he hoped that he could spend the rest of his life proving himself to her and to the people of Alderaan, had charmed everyone in the garden. He just hoped that the affection extended to the rest of the planet.

Leia was shining in a way he thought suited her nicely. He had considered her attractive before, but standing next to her, declaring their "love" to the world, he realized that she was beautiful.

When it had finished, Han graciously offered Leia his arm and led her away from the microphones and cameras, and back into the castle. He lingered, for only a moment, but she swatted him away.

"Careful there, princess, someone might still be around to see that. Don't want to read about any spousal abuse yet," he teased her.

"There won't be, as we are not in fact, spouses." She paused and looked at him. "Nice work out there, Solo. You really surprised me."

Han chuckled. "Yeah well I have a lot of incentive."

"Yes, well, money is often a strong motivator." Han thought she looked a little disappointed. She continued, "If we continue to be this successful, you can consider yourself a very wealthy man. Just a few more months."

"Months, I'm already tired and it's only been two days."

Leia straightened her back. Her tone had an edge to it. "It hasn't exactly been a picnic for me either, Captain Solo." With that, she turned her back and walked away from him.

Han stood back, surprised, but went right after her. "Hey, princess, what's your problem?"

"I don't have a problem."

"Yeah, then how come you go from almost showing a little emotion one second to turning into an ice princess the next?"

Leia laughed. There was no trace of humor in it. "Ice princess? How original."

Han ignored her. "I thought we did pretty good out there."

"We did."

"Then how come you're so upset?"

"I told you I am not upset. Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do. We are expected to make a public appearance in town for dinner. After we eat, we will take a brief tour of the main part of town, and come promptly home."

She continued walking towards the bedroom area of the castle.

"Why?"

"If you are going to be staying here for awhile, and if you are to be my 'betrothed' then it is important for Alderaan to see you taking an active interest in its values and culture."

Han shrugged her off. "Not that. I meant the 'promptly home' stuff. Can't we stop off and get a drink somewhere?"

Leia raised an eyebrow at him. "I expect that you know enough not to be sneaking around the planet at cantinas and drawing unwanted attention to yourself?"

"You can draw your conclusions, princess, but I'm not some sleazebag drunk. I just mean t that your plans all seem so stuffy and organized. Maybe we could relax a bit."

They had made it to the hallway connecting to their rooms. Leia stopped and looked up at him.

"I have no time to relax, Captain Solo. If you do remember, the whole reason you are here is to protect me as I continue my pursuits with the Rebellion."

"Do you ever take time for yourself?"

Leia had her hand on the doorknob to her bedroom. She tilted her head just slightly to look at him.

"Not when there's a war to be fought. Now if you'll excuse me, I don't like to work in such extravagant clothing."

* * *

><p>Leia felt a mixture of emotions after the press conference. She was happy and relieved to know that it had gone over so well. Winter promised to come to her the minute she was able to figure out the rest of Alderaan's impression of Han, but if the reaction in the garden was any indication, people were quite smitten with Han Solo.<p>

At least someone is, she thought to herself. That was her other emotion. She didn't know if she liked Han or if she wanted to kill him. At times, he acted like a decent human being. He had presented himself nicely at the press conference and had saved her father, but his snide remarks and indecent humor was getting to her.

All he talked about was money. Leia accepted that since she came from royalty, she may not understand the true depth of what money meant to others, but Solo was obsessed. And paying him, although coming mostly from her father's pocket, was eating her up inside. She wished her father would have given the money instead to the Rebellion who were ever in need of financial assistance. If she could not be open about her alliance, then at least she could be a beneficiary.

And she had been. All of her trust fund money had gone to buying new equipment and food for the Rebellion. She had only what her father would leave her in his inheritance, that is, if she survived the war. Every morning she woke up, Leia found it was a blessing. The moment the Empire found she was a traitor, she would be dead. If she had the choice, she would give all of that money to them too.

But as she did not have any choice but to accept Han as her bodyguard, and there was no chance he would do any such service for free, it was a sacrifice she had to make. Not to mention the guilt she felt at having to act so happy, care-free, and in love when so much of the galaxy was suffering at the Empire's hand.

It killed her that Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine were still alive. The Death Star had been a significant blow, but their power and influence were steady in their strength.

Leia shuddered, remembering the few run-ins she had had with the towering, dark figure she refused to recognize as human. She wondered how Han Solo might react if a time arose that they would come face-to-face with Vader. Though she doubted either would live very long regardless, she wasn't sure he was the type of person that would risk his own life for hers.

Dropping the heavy dress to the ground, Leia stepped out of it and kicked it aside. She pulled out a white blouse and khaki skirt as replacements. As she pulled them on, she felt guilty. That wasn't a fair assessment of Han. After all, he had saved her father before he had even been hired to do such a thing.

It always came back to that it seemed. Though he constantly spoke of caring just for him, she saw, in just the few days she had known him, a deep caring friendship between him and Chewbacca. And he talked an awful lot about his ship.

Leia smirked. She couldn't wait to see what the Millenium Falcon actually looked like compared to the proud captain's delusions. There was a planned 'romantic lover's getaway' this weekend, which was actually a chance for Leia to meet up at the Rebellion's rendezvous for a short time.

She frowned. Her father only allowed her a few days at a time so that her absence would not be suspicious. While it was safe to assume that, as a captain, Han would fly around the galaxy any chance he got, it was still important that there be frequent sightings of him and Leia together touring Alderaan. It would be the natural thing for a man courting the princess to do.

She sighed, took a longing last look at her bed, and walked towards her office. She had a mountain of paperwork to do, phone calls to make, and hopefully a meeting with General Riekkan over the holovid. He was an old friend of her father's and their most frequent contact with the Rebellion. Usually, she looked forward to such meetings, but today Riekkan was to be introduced to Han, who agreed, though unofficially, to offer some support to the Rebellion.

It was a valiant gesture, but Leia did not like the way his eyebrow crinkled in disgust when she suggested he become an official member. He had mumbled something about uniforms and not wanting to get involved. The meeting was to take place after her and Han's dinner, which she was not looking forward to with as much enthusiasm.

She had almost made it to the end of the hallway to her office when a voice called out to her. She swallowed a sigh and turned it on.

"Grandmother, I'm very sorry but I have a lot of work to do."

Her grandmother waved her off. "Dear, you spend so much time working. What you should really be doing is getting in some extra one-on-one time with that pilot of yours."

Leia blushed a deep crimson. "We have plenty of time to be together. Capt- Han understands that my job is just as important to me as he is."

Grandmother clucked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. "Nu uh. See that's where you're wrong, dearie. Your work should never be as important as the person you're in love with! That's one thing I hoped to pass down to your father, but he never quite understood it and look where that got him! A widow before he ever enjoyed married life. And now I'm afraid he's influenced you."

Leia didn't know what to say. It was true that her father and mother, though in love, did not get to spend as much time together as they should have. But her father was always so involved with politics and royal life that she supposed they had missed out on much of what being in love could offer. Sometimes though, she had to put her selfish needs aside for the greater good. In this case, there weren't even any real selfish needs anyways.

"You're right, grandmother. I will be sure to make time for me and Han to be together, but right now I have to get some work finished if I want to enjoy dinner later."

She went to turn away, but her grandmother stopped her by putting her hand gently on Leia's shoulder.

"Yes, grandmother?"

Instead of responding, her grandmother simply looked at her with a small smile on her face. Leia was alarmed to see tears were forming in her eyes.

"What's wrong?"

Her grandmother laughed and shrugged it off. "Nothing, dear. It's just, you and Captain Solo remind me so much of me and your grandfather that it just makes an old lady like me reminisce."

With that, she picked up her hand off her shoulder, kissed Leia's forehead, and walked away.

Leia stood there a moment longer. She felt a mixture of bittersweet sadness, guilt, and pride at having so deeply fooled her grandmother into believing her and Han were in love. Though she wasn't sure how that had happened because in the past two days, her and Solo had spent most of the time arguing or rolling their eyes at one another. Even though they were supposed to be acting so in love in front of her grandmother, they were struggling a bit. Leia was relieved to see that their disagreements had not gotten in the way.

Laughing quietly to herself, she stepped into her office. The workload suddenly didn't seem as intense as before.

* * *

><p>Han found that he was bored. He spent most of the time after the press conference wandering the palace. He had found a vast library that he was sure, in the beginning, that no one would ever find the time to read so many. But as time carried on so slowly, he thought maybe it could be possible. And because he wasn't allowed outside the palace without Leia, mostly because it was his job to watch over her, he ran out of rooms to explore.<p>

He spent an hour bothering an already perturbed Leia in her office. Though he promised to be quiet and just sat in the chair opposite her desk, fiddling with an old data pad, she did not take too kindly to his presence. After a long time of glaring up at him and rolling her eyes at him every so often, or sighing loudly telling him to keep his mutterings to himself, she finally stood up from her desk. Han was hoping that she had given up and listened to his idea to stop working and going outside, instead, she just leaned over and knocked his feet off of her desk.

Laughing heartily, he gave up and left her office. Though now he was considering going back there because it at least offered him company and entertainment. He wished he could go to the Falcon and play around with it like Chewie was, but the king was serious about the job requirements. Han had said that, if he couldn't get to the Falcon to check to see if she was in working order, they may not be able to go on their mission. But then Chewie had offered to go in his place and the king was more than happy to oblige.

Not only was he kept from his ship, but now his best friend. He couldn't even look for any pretty girls to flirt with because if that ever got out, the whole mission would be shot to hell. Lying on his bed, Han supposed he could go talk to Winter, but the princess had her doing work. Besides, anytime he got near her, she broke out into fits of giggles.

He planned on going to see what Grandmother Organa was up to, but he must have fallen asleep because next thing he realized, there was a knocking at the door. Sitting up, he looked outside his window and saw that the sky was beginning to darken. The knocking continued, but as he went to tell whoever it was to come inside, he heard voices in the hallway.

Smirking, he stood up and listened at the door.

"Dear, what are you doing? He's your sweetheart, you don't have to knock!"

Han's smile grew wider. He could just see Leia's blush.

"Right, of course. I just wasn't sure what he was doing. It would be rude to inter-Grandmother!"

Han stepped aside just in time as the door swung open. Laughing, Han saw two figures standing in the doorway. Leia looked appalled, but grandmother stepped right inside.

"Hello, dear. What were you doing that kept you from answering the door for so long?"

Leia followed her with slight hesitation and stood next to him. "Yes, dear. What _did_ take you so long?"

Han noticed the furrowing of her eyebrows and how he thought it made her look adorable rather than stern.

"I fell asleep. Nothing much to do around here."

Leia went to respond, but was interrupted. "See dear! You're boring him. I know you have to return to work at some point, but for the love of Gods, take advantage of these beginning stages!"

She looked at them expectantly and Leia realized with a jolt of horror that she was waiting for them to kiss. Han must have realized too because he was looking at her with an awkward expression on his face. When he leaned down, Leia braced herself, but instead he planted a gentle kiss on the top of her head and pulled her closer towards him.

He spoke. "Well, Grandma. As much as your presence is always welcome and appreciated, I haven't seen m'lady all day and I'd like to get in some alone time before dinner."

Han winked at her and they shared a look of understanding that Leia got but did not appreciate.

Excited and clapping her hands together, grandmother scurried outside the room. "Of course, of course! Don't let me get in your way!"

They listened to her muttering excitedly all the way down the hallway. Shutting the door, Han turned around towards her and they shared a smile. Leia broke the gaze and instead went to sit on the chair beside his dresser.

"She's quite a character."

Leia laughed. "Yes, grandmother likes her romance novels, so you can only imagine how one is seemingly playing out in front of her eyes."

Han laughed and sat down opposite her on his bed. "Has she always been that way?"

Leia quirked an eyebrow at him. "Yes, why?"

"Nah, it's just that neither you or your father are much like that."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing bad, relax Your Highness. The two of you are just so serious and I dunno she seems like she knows how to have a good time."

"And I don't?"

Han sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "I didn't mean to offend you, princess. You're the one who said it's all work and no play."

Leia stood up from her chair, clearly annoyed. "We are in the middle of a war, Captain Solo. Just because you refuse to become involved, does not mean that it isn't happening. Some of us actually have work to do, so excuse me for not having all the leisure time in the world right now."

He stood up too, growing in frustration. "Listen, princess, just because I prefer not to sacrifice my own neck _officially_, doesn't mean I don't care. Isn't working here for you showing some sort of support?"

"Isn't it all for the money?"

A grin broke out on his face. "Doesn't hurt- hey, wait! Hold on a second."

Leia opened the door and started to step outside into the hallway when she paused and looked up at him.

"I just came to tell you that we need to get ready for dinner soon. Kindly put on an appropriate outfit and meet me at the entrance in fifteen minutes."

She turned and left. Han was once again wondering how in all hells the princess changed her demeanor so quickly.


	6. Chapter 6

He was late and he was doing it on purpose. Leia just knew it. She couldn't believe his nerve. She had their next few days, every outing, every tea, every meeting, every single public appearance, planned out to the last parsec. He was ruining everything.

If she hadn't been so upset, she might find it comical how she went from finding him tolerable one second to hating him the next. It had to have been him who had saved her father that fateful day. Had it really only been two days before? She couldn't believe it. Leia felt like she had been dealing with Han Solo's antics forever.

Leia was just about to go drag him out of his room herself when he came lumbering down the palace steps and into the foyer.

She turned on him, offering her best glare. His response was a low whistle and a seductive leer. Balking, she tried to keep her composure.

"Captain Solo, are you finally ready?"

His cheery tone was meant to mock her and she was infuriated by how much it annoyed her.

"Yes, sweetheart. I just got caught up talking with your grandmother. Seems to think we've chosen the wrong place for dinner. Says we should go somewhere cozier for lovebirds like ourselves."

Han pointed casually behind him and Leia picked up on his signal. She would have to be more careful at being civil towards him. Grandmother was always lurking, having been so deeply invested in their relationship.

He was beaming, but she kept her cool. "I'm sure that we will have plenty of time to try Grandmother's suggestion at a later date. But really, we mustn't cancel plans. They're expecting us."

"Oh, no. We _mustn't_." Han walked down the last few steps and stood in front of her. Giving a little bow, he stuck out his arm. She accepted, but the strength with which she grabbed him showed just how much she appreciated his words.

He laughed all the way into the hoverlimo. When they got in and the driver shut the door, Han and Leia pulled apart immediately and sat at opposite ends. Leia made sure the shield was up between them and the driver before turning on him.

"You are an incorrigible human being."

"Thank you."

"That wasn't meant as a compliment."

"I know."

Leia sighed. "What took you so long?"

He was looking out the window as the hoverlimo started to pull away from the castle. "Dunno. Had to do my hair."

"Your-" She was about to go into a long, tedious rant at how his hair should not take that long when she noticed the smirk on his face. "You think you're so funny."

"I am funny. You need to relax, sweetheart."

"Did we not discuss this earlier? I do not have ti-"

"Listen princess. Sure, you don't have time for such trivial matters like blah blah, I get it. I mean, you need to learn to take a joke."

"Perhaps I just don't find your humor very funny."

"_Perhaps_ you don't, but at least I'm tryin' to get along."

"Well, I'm just sorry I am putting you in such a dismal situation. What would you have me do?"

"Relax."

If Leia could roll her eyes any higher, they would be lost in the confines of her head. They didn't speak for a long time. Continuing her breathing exercises taught to her when she felt overwhelmed, she took five breaths and looked back up at him.

If it were possible, though Leia refused to admit it, Han looked even more handsome each time she saw him. He was wearing the same dark pants from the press conference, but thank the gods he had changed his shirt. The dark green button-up shirt was a nice compliment to his hazel eyes.

She clucked her tongue when she saw how he was sitting. With his legs spread casually apart, he rested one elbow on the edge of the door. He was staring out into the darkening Alderaan, looking deep in thought. She didn't know he had it in him.

"Captain Solo-"

"Call me Han."

"Right, sorry. Han, I think we should try harder to be nicer to one another. Perhaps I will try relaxing a little more if you could tone down the humor a notch."

Han shrugged his shoulders.

"I also think it vital that we get to know one another much better. Imagine how it would look if one of us were asked what the other's favorite color was and we had no idea!" She paused, but he offered no response. "Could you at least look at me and pretend you are involved in this conversation."

Han looked at her out of the corner of one eye and smirked. "Red."

"Excuse me?"

He turned to look at her directly. "My favorite color's red."

"Oh, right."

"I find it often looks best on women."

This time, she caught the humor in his tone. Leia refrained from speaking and just shook her head in annoyance. Breathe in. Breathe out.

"Of course. Why should I expect for you to answer such a simple question with a simple answer?"

"Like to keep you on your toes."

"These next few months are going to be long."

"They could be fun, ya know?" He put a hand up to stop her and continued. "I know, I know. We got a disguise to stick to and runs to make and all this important business with taking down the Imps. I get it. But if we're supposed to act in love, it'll be a hell of a lot easier if you don't look like it's physically hurting you to even stand next to me. Let alone touch me."

"If there is no cause for touching, then why must we touch?"

He leaned forward. The look in his eyes was dark, but not menacing. Challenging almost. "Cus when you're in love, sweetheart, you don't need to sign a contract to touch. You do it cus you want to."

She stared at him, mouth openly slightly, unable to turn away from his gaze.

After a moment, she spoke, "I thought I acted appropriately at the press conference."

Han sat back against the seat. "Sure, you were more than appropriate. But that's a fixed thing, princess. You can't fix and plan every single moment of the next few months between us and our supposed romance. Just let things happen and it will seem more natural."

"I'm afraid of 'just letting things happen' when it comes to you."

Han laughed in a genuine sort of way. The first time she didn't feel as though he were judging or mocking her. She found she liked the sound.

"That's a good motto to stick by."

The silence this time was comfortable. They still had a way's to the restaurant and Leia felt herself relaxing, but only a little.

"So tell me, Capt-_Han_, tell me something about yourself."

He turned again from looking out the window. "What do you want to know?"

"Anything a prospective wife should know about her husband."

"Wouldn't that be up more your alley?"

"My past relationships have been with princes and sons of delegates or senators. Everything I need to know is out on the table and everything worth knowing is swept under the rug."

Han quirked an eyebrow at her. "Born and raised in Corellia."

"Who were your parents?"

"Don't know. Let's just say I have an interesting past that we don't need to get into specifics about. I joined the Imperial Navy when I was old enough and left as quickly as I could when I realized I wasn't meant for politics."

It was Leia who now raised her eyebrow, questioning him. "In what ways?"

"We disagreed on a few things and I found I preferred to be living on my own."

"But you're not really alone."

"Are you trying to psychoanalyze me?"

Leia laughed. "Hardly, that would take much more time than a several minute car-ride. I'm just suggesting that Chewbacca's presence in your life does not coincide with wanting to be 'alone.'"

"He's more like a shadow."

"I disagree."

Han didn't respond and Leia felt the casual mood drifting from the air. She tried another tactic.

"Tell me more about your ship. The Millennium Falcon?"

Han did not smile, but his demeanor brightened considerably. "My girl. Haven't seen her in awhile, thanks to you."

Leia frowned. "Although two days is not something you should already be moping about, I suppose I'll need to inspect the ship that I will be entrusting with my life. If she's anything like her captain, I'm in for a volatile ride."

Han was beaming.

She continued, "If all goes well tonight, then I guess we could stop by for a visit."

"Are you bribing me into behaving myself?"

Leia's answer was short and blunt. "Yes."

Han nodded. "Good, just wanted to be sure. You can guarantee you're in for quite the dinner tonight."

"I'm just tingling with excitement."

"You need to learn how to keep your emotions in check." They smiled at each other. Leia coughed slightly and turned away.

Looking out at the trees sweeping in the wind, she looked back at him. "I think you'll find Alderaan to be a beautiful planet. I know the palace itself is impressive, but you don't really get a true feel for it until you're out in the public gardens."

"Is that where we're walking tonight?"

His tone indicated that he was less than excited for such an event. Leia smirked.

"Yes. Even though it's dark, the night air won't be too cool."

Han sighed. "I'll tell you what, princess. I've been back and forth across this galaxy to every planet you can imagine, and I gotta admit that I can't think of one that's quite like Alderaan."

It was barely a compliment as he didn't say anything overwhelmingly positive about it, but Leia was touched. She didn't speak for a long moment, she couldn't speak.

"Yes, well. We try."

"Now if we could only do something about that corrupt government, we'd be in great shape."

Leia's eyes narrowed. "Just what are you insinuating?"

Han straightened up in his seat, humor evident in his eyes. Leia didn't take kindly to people insulting her political intentions.

"First of all, one of your people tries to assassinate the king."

"That can happen anywhere. Even the happiest people have an unhappy one in the bunch."

"And it takes an outsider to save him."

"Lucky for him, unlucky for me."

Han laughed. "Then there's the major romantic cover-up between a princess and a space pirate. That's just playing with people's heart strings."

"You can trust that the situation is not ideal on either side."

"And finally, the princess is risking everything, including her own life, the life of her family and friends, of her entire planet, to go up against an unstoppable force."

Leia stared at him for a long time. He didn't break eye contact and even though there was still a glint of humor in his eyes, he wasn't smiling.

"It's for the greater good of the galaxy and that force is not unstoppable. And for the record, that cover-up of which you speak, and of which you are _involved_, is set in place to protect them."

"Not you?"

"I myself am insignificant in the long run. If I must sacrifice, so be it."

"That's an awful big thing to say for someone so young."

They sat in silence the rest of the way, each contemplating the other. When they got to the restaurant, they glanced at each other before glimpsing out the window. People were lined up on the street, cameras flashed from every corner. Han's hand circled around the blaster on his holster, more out of instinct than anything else.

He turned towards Leia. "Alright princess, three things to know. One, Chewie's around here somewhere trying to remain inconspicuous. Difficult for a wookiee, I get that, but he's got a way about him that even I don't see coming sometimes."

Han waited for her to indicate that she was listening. Leia nodded.

"Two, remember that I'm supposed to be here as your lover. Let me act the part of bodyguard. I'm sneakier than you and I know how to keep an eye on suspicious things while acting casual."

She rolled her eyes, but nodded again.

He was looking at her, but did not continue. Leia sighed. "And?"

Han gave her a serious look. "And, three-" He paused again.

Exasperated, she prodded, "What?"

Laughing, Han said, "Relax." He grabbed her arm and helped her out of the hoverlimo to their adoring fans.

* * *

><p>Dinner was quiet. Most of the other diners had started off staring and whispering to themselves about the princess and her new betrothed, but after awhile, things settled down.<p>

Han and Leia found it was not difficult to engage in conversation. He talked more about his ship, she discussed what it was like growing up as a child of royalty. Han mentioned just a little about an old female wookiee who helped raise him, and Leia countered that she too was adopted.

In-between courses, they held hands and gazed at one another in adoration, albeit false, over the soft glow of the candles. It must have been the wine, but Leia felt like she was enjoying herself more than she had in a very long time.

It seemed like Han was charming and easy to talk to when he thought it was in his best interest. Unfortunately, this was not consistent and Leia was never sure what the next word out of his mouth would be. Just when he caught her off-guard with something nice, he'd follow it up with an innuendo. It was thoroughly disorienting.

Nonetheless, when dinner ended, Leia was not dreading the walk. It was actually something she was looking forward to. Making their way out of the restaurant and across town, they came to the front gates to the public garden.

The castle garden at home was beautiful, but this was her favorite spot in Alderaan. It often gave her a chance to come into the town and remain unnoticed. There were plenty of small spots she could go and hide, basking in the sun and fresh air, listening to the people bustling around, clearing her mind after a vigorous argument of politics between delegates.

Stepping inside, Leia turned shy. She didn't know what to do with her hands. As though anticipating her hesitation, Han reached for her and grasped it gingerly. Walking hand-in-hand, Leia pointed out all the statues of old deceased relatives and monuments. Telling him about the history of Alderaan always seemed odd to her because it was so connected to her, yet so distant. She told him about all the different plants she knew from various planets, and he even offered some of his own knowledge.

They stopped in front of the vast fountain, the thing Leia found most magnificent about the garden. Water spouted from everywhere. When Han pulled out two credits and handed one to her, she didn't know what he was doing at first. When she realized, she broke out laughing.

"Children do that, Han, not adults."

"C'mon, princess. No one's too old to make a wish. Here, I'll go first."

He closed his eyes and frowned in concentration. Leia watched as his lips formed wordless thoughts. After a second, he tossed the credit into the bank of the fountain, opened his eyes, and smiled.

"Your turn."

"What did you wish for?"

His smiled widened, in devious fashion. "I can't tell you or it won't come true."

Leia rolled her eyes, hesitated, but then closed her eyes and tried to come up with a wish.

_I wish for more nights like these, for everyone._

She took a deep breath and dropped the credit into the water. Leia didn't open her eyes until a few moments later. When she opened them, she found Han looking at her with a strange expression on his face.

"What?"

"Nothing."

She sighed. "Seriously, what?"

Han shrugged his shoulders with a laugh. "You worry too much." He pulled her to him and they started walking back towards the exit. "Now can we please go and see my ship?"


	7. Chapter 7

Han had to restrain himself from running to his ship when they got to the shipyard. He felt like it had been an eternity since he had seen her. His arm still around Leia's waist, he guided them to walk a little bit faster. Since she was significantly shorter than him, she noticed his eagerness.

Heading directly towards the Falcon, he was met with some resistance as Leia pulled away from him. She stopped walking and looked up at him.

"Please tell me we are not heading for the ship we seem to be heading for."

He looked at her, confused. "What do you mean?"

Leia pointed at the Falcon sitting only a few feet away. "That is not your ship."

"What's wrong with her?" He looked offended.

"Oh gods. You came in that thing?"

"Hey, she might not look the part, but she has it where it counts."

"We'll never get off the planet."

Exasperated, he shrugged her off and headed for his ship. Han sensed that she was following him, but ignored her and put in the passcode. The ramp descended and he walked up as quickly as he could. Standing in the center of his ship, he took a deep breath. Just being there felt like home.

Leia pushed past him and began her inspection. Han watched as she walked around the hold in complete silence. She made no indication of her thoughts as she walked down the hallway and looked into Chewie's room, then looked into his cabin.

She disappeared for a few minutes, but Han had no time to sit around waiting for her opinions. He wanted to make sure everything was ok with his ship. Walking into the cockpit and sitting down in his pilot's chair, Han felt truly relaxed for the first time in days. He wished more than anything to take her into the air and fly far away from Alderaan, but he was reminded just why he couldn't just at that moment.

"You've flown this thing before?" Leia's voice was dripping in sarcasm.

Han thought her voice sounded a bit more shrill than usual. It might have been because she was standing in the cockpit of his ship and not talking about it in a very nice way. He swiveled his seat to look at her. Leia's arms were crossed tightly at her chest, a scowl on her face.

"What's the problem, sweetheart?"

"Your ship doesn't look like it will stay together much longer, never mind get into the air."

Han rolled his eyes. "Maybe you should give her a chance before judging so quickly. She's the best ship you'll ever fly on. I guarantee it."

"Well, in that case," she paused dramatically, "I doubt her even more." She went to sit in the chair next to his. "I should have known from the way you refer to the ship as a female. Only a very particular type of person does that."

Han swiveled away from her, but there was pride in his voice. "A pilot?"

"A very particular pilot." Her tone was smug.

"Yeah, well, it takes a very particular type of wookiee to sit in that co-pilot's chair and you ain't him." Han gestured to one of the seats behind them.

Leia stared at him. "Are you serious?"

"With all these insults you're throwing at her, consider yourself lucky you even get to be in the cockpit. Or on the ship at all!"

Leia rolled her eyes, but got up and sat in the seat diagonally across from his. "Better?"

Han didn't turn around. "It will do."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Han staring out of the window, Leia looking all around the cockpit. Perturbed at his annoyance with her, she broke the silence.

"How did the Falcon come into your possession anyways?"

Han still did not turn around. "It's a long story."

"We have time."

"It doesn't matter how I got her, it's that I got her."

Leia sighed. She thought it was very hypocritical of him to be so insulted by her jokes when he did it to her all the time.

"As your fiancée, I think it pivotal-"

"If you were my real fiancée, maybe I'd tell ya. And if you were really my fiancée then maybe I'd even let you sit up front. Though no wife of mine would ever dare insult my ship!"

Leia was sure her eyes were going to get stuck up in her head from rolling them at him all the time.

"Yes, _your_ type of woman would probably love this ship. I suppose since I am pretending to be just that type," her nose crinkled a little in disgust, "then I should offer more effort to appreciate it."

"Her."

"I can't quite go that far."

"Don't bother pretending then. She can tell the difference between someone being genuine and someone faking it."

"I never said the act was for the ship."

Han still refused to turn around. "Ever the diplomat."

"There's nothing wrong with that."

"I never said there was, Your Highness." Finally he turned his chair to look at her. "I'm just sayin' we're different kinds of people."

Caught off-guard by the seriousness of his tone and the way he was looking at her, Leia stood up abruptly.

She answered, "I guess you're right. Anyways, Captain, I think it's about time we headed back to the castle."

"Any chance we can take her for a ride first?"

"No."

"It will help you get used to her."

Leia turned away from him and started for the door. "I'll take my chances another day. This weekend, in fact. Right now, all I want to do is talk with General Rieekan and go to bed."

Han smirked. "Excellent idea, princess. Your bed or mine."

Her face reddened and she scowled at him. "I meant to sleep. In separate beds. Now, if you will please listen for once, can we go back home?"

Sighing, Han stood up from his chair, gave one last longing look and followed Leia out of the ship. He stopped to lock the Falcon and found Leia sitting in the hoverlimo with limbs crossed tightly in severe agitation.

Pleased that he got her back for talking bad about his ship, Han gave her his brightest smile as he sat down opposite her.

As the hoverlimo began to move, Han turned from the window to look at her. "Whatcha thinkin' about, sweetheart?"

"Nothing you would understand."

Not bothered by the hit, he pressed her. "Try me."

"I have an important meeting scheduled with General Rieekan this evening and I'm just trying to plan everything out that I want to say."

"We have an important meeting, you mean. Can't just live in the moment, huh?"

Leia sighed in exasperation, but finally met his gaze. "General Rieekan is very busy, so it is important that I figure out exactly what I want to say in as prompt and efficient manner as possible."

They both went silent. Han was perfectly content to keep it like that the rest of the way back, but Leia, of course, disagreed.

"I think you will like General Rieekan."

"Enough to convince me to join up?" Han's voice was sarcastic.

"I never said that."

"You meant it."

"I don't understand your aversion to the Rebellion. You believe in what they are fighting for, you show obvious passion for your ship, and friendship to Chewie."

"Why is it so important to you that I join?"

"You would be very valuable to the Rebellion."

He smirked. "Like I am to you?"

"I would hardly say you are valuable so much as you are useful. If we are being honest, and I assume it is safe to say that we are, then I think really anyone who is male and quick with a blaster could do this job."

"Your father disagrees."

"Ah, yes, but he is not me. Still proves my point."

Han shrugged. "Sure, but things wouldn't be so interesting without me."

"You do bring a certain character along with you."

Han's smile widened.

"I never said that was a good thing. Infuriating, frustrating, incredibly crude, and somewhat ignorant. But not good."

"You'd miss me."

"Unlikely."

Both felt like they had won the argument. Leia from believing she had had the last word and Han from the growing pink blush on her face. For the rest of the ride, they sat in comfortable silence. Han was looking forward to going to bed when he remembered they still had to have the meeting with the general.


	8. Chapter 8

A few days had passed since Leia and Han had gone into town for dinner, and besides the short time it took for a picture to be taken of the two of them walking in the palace garden, they had not really had much to do together.

After the conversation with Rieekan, which had mostly consisted of Leia talking and a short introduction between Han and the general, they had gone to bed and not said a word about dinner.

Han was going crazy locked up in the castle. He knew almost all of the staff, who were more than nice to him but were kept busy and didn't have much time to spend talking to him. Though it would be the easiest money he ever had to make, a good sum of it too, he wasn't someone who could be kept inside for very long without getting into trouble. He missed his ship more than he ever had in his life and longed for the weekend, so he could ship Leia off to the Rebellion. It was a dangerous mission, and for that, he was grateful.

Chewie had pretty much abandoned him, preferring to stay on the ship to watch over it and make repairs, than spend much time at the palace. Han was more jealous than angry and knew if the situation was switched, he would do the same thing.

Han was surprised to learn that despite everyone's busy schedules, everyone except for him, the king made it a priority to have dinner together every night. Conversation was light, more to appease Grandmother Organa than any other reason, as she took up most of the conversation. In-between bites of food and her countless stories, she would look at Han and Leia, trying to gage them. Leia seemed stressed out, though Han didn't ask because she looked like she might kill someone if they looked at her the wrong way. He tried to ignore her because anytime he opened his mouth, she scowled at him.

After most of the dinner, Grandmother Organa couldn't contain herself anymore.

"Have the two of you had a fight?" Her voice sounded breathless, like she was excited.

Leia's eyes widened and Han tried not to laugh. She turned to her father for an explanation, but he just shrugged his shoulders and looked down at his plate. Han thought he saw the king smirk.

"I-of course not, Grandmother. What would give you that idea?"

"The two of you barely spend any time together at all and when you do, it's at dinner. Tonight, you keep glaring at each other. And yesterday, I saw Captain Solo talking very _flirtatiously_ with one of the maids."

Her eyebrows were wagging in agitation. She seemed far too invested in this. It was Han's turn to look shocked. He choked on the bread he had just taken a bite of.

Leia was glaring at him again.

"I wasn't flirting."

Leia sighed and spoke to her grandmother. "I'm sure it wasn't what it looked like, Grandmother. I assure you everything is perfectly fine between me and Han."

"I'm not so sure about that, dear. Neither of you have been sneaking back-and-forth between your rooms. Not one night!"

"Grandmother!"

Han dropped his fork onto the plate. The king snorted and tried to contain his laughter with a cough.

"I'm just suggesting, dear, that if you want to keep Captain Solo's interest, you need to spend more time with him. The poor fellow spends all his time walled up in this palace with nothing to do, while his lady locks herself up in her office all day."

"There is much work to be done, Grandmother. I have many responsibilities to my people."

"_Of course_, I understand that. Nothing wrong with work, but there is such a thing as too much work."

"Hardly not in these times."

"Leia dear, I just don't want you missing out on anything."

"We take walks."

"Outside in the gardens! Where everyone can see you. What about privacy?"

"I-"

"Mother," the king's voice was stern, but there was a touch of humor in it.

"Yes, son?"

"I think we should leave Leia and Han alone-"

"Exactly my point!"

He lifted an eyebrow. "I mean in terms of their relationship. They are in control of themselves and I am sure they are very happy."

Grandmother Organa did not respond, but she remained displeased looking.

"Besides, the two of them are going away tomorrow.

Her eyes lit up. "I forgot about that!"

They stayed in relative silence the rest of dinner. For her part, Leia kept her glaring down to a minimum. Right when the last plate was removed, she excused herself and went back into her office. Han spent a few minutes talking with Chewie about the ship, making sure everything was in working order.

He spoke with a sense of reminiscence, longing in his voice. Chewie assured him that all was well with both him and the ship and left before Han could get in another word. Grandmother Organa and Bail were still at the table, sipping on kaffe and engaging in conversation about wedding plans.

Bail was telling her it was a little too soon as the engagement wasn't even official yet. Han left before he could be dragged in on the conversation. He headed back for his room as he had nowhere else to go.

Undressing, he laid down on his bed and sighed. It wasn't nearly time for bed, but he didn't know what else to do. He thought back to the dinner conversation and laughed out loud. He had been flirting with the maid, but it was really harmless. He wondered if Grandmother Organa had been following him all week. He almost wished she would as she was interesting to be around, but she too had responsibilities that kept her busy most of the day. More likely, she probably had gossip informants all over the palace.

He must have fallen asleep because he imagined he was in the cockpit of the Falcon, finally taking her up for flight, when he heard a distant knocking. Quiet at first, it grew louder as he gained consciousness. He sat up and looked out his window. The sky had darkened.

"Come in," his voice was groggy.

The door slid open and Leia shut it quietly behind her as she stepped into the room.

"Awfully early to be in bed already, don't you think?"

Han glared at her. "Nothing else for me to do around here."

She almost looked sympathetic. "Sorry about that. Tomorrow you'll be able to stretch your legs a bit."

"Can't wait to see my ship."

Leia rolled her eyes.

"I wanted to talk to you about tomorrow. We are scheduled to leave early. The less people that see us take off, the less suspicion it will bring us. Of course, once the ship is in hyper space, rumors of our romantic getaway will fly into high gear. But no one must know where we are really headed."

"Whatever you say."

"You'll be on time?"

"Of course."

"Good," she nodded and went to turn away.

"Is that it?"

She turned back. "What do you mean?"

He sighed. "Nothing about what we'll actually be doing there?"

"Not tonight. I'll explain everything to you on the flight. Now if you'll excuse me, we have an early morning tomorrow and I haven't been sleeping well."

Attempting once more to extend her stay, Han asked, "Yeah? What's been bothering you."

She sighed and looked back at him. "It's nothing you have to worry about, Captain. Goodnight."

When she left and shut the door, Han laid back down and willed sleep to take over. He couldn't wait for the morning.

* * *

><p>The princess was not a morning person. She never had been. Though always high functioning, it was her mood that was most affected. Those closest to her knew not to even approach her unless she had had a cup of kaffe.<p>

Leia was excited to finally be going back to the Rebellion. The last time she had been directly involved, there had been a close call, but fortunately she had escaped unscathed. She knew the risks, but she felt the situation was worth it. Having to rely on Han Solo to get her to and from was not something she was overly comfortable with. If he was half as good as he said he was, they would have no problem getting there. It was more of an issue for Leia to not have as much time there as she would have liked and also to have to spend so much time alone with the captain locked up in his ship.

If she was being honest, she had been avoiding him. Ever since their night out a few days ago, she had felt unnerved. She couldn't put her finger on exactly what it was she was feeling or what had caused it. She just knew that when she was around him, she felt something not quite uncomfortable, and Leia was better at ignoring it when he wasn't there to interrupt her thoughts.

Waking up even earlier than she had to, she snuck down to the kitchen and made herself some kaffe. She had told the wait staff not to bother getting up early for them because they wouldn't need a big breakfast. The less people she had to deal with in the morning, the better.

Sipping on her kaffe, she grabbed a bit of fruit and some toast. It was early so she wasn't particularly hungry yet, but she doubted Han would have anything more savory on his ship.

Before heading back up to her room to collect her things and make sure Han was awake, she turned back and made a plate for him. He was being helpful, so it was the least she could do. It took her all of five minutes to have everything ready to go. She traveled light on these trips because she wasn't there as a princess or diplomat and had no use for extravagant things. Being in the barracks, in the midst of the Rebellion and war was a far cry from the aristocratic life she was accustomed, and she loved it.

So as not to disturb any neighboring rooms, especially that of her Grandmother who was probably already lingering, waiting to see if anything good happened, she decided to just walk into Han's room.

Cautious so as not to walk in on anything she didn't, or shouldn't, want to see, Leia opened the door. It was still dark in the main bedroom and she sighed, afraid he was still sleeping.

She whispered, "Han? Are you awake?"

No one responded, but she noticed that the fresher door was closed and the light was on inside. Feeling much more at ease, she turned the light on and sat down on the very edge of his bed to wait. They still had plenty of time so she didn't need to rush him, yet.

After only a few minutes of waiting, the fresher door opened and Leia looked up from her datapad.

Han looked a little surprised to see her sitting there at first, but was quick to recover. "Morning, Your Worship."

He stepped into the room and rummaged around, getting ready. He was already dressed in his usual Corellian blood stripe pants, high black boots, and button up white shirt. Leia watched as he threw on his vest, rumpled his hair, and attached his blaster to the holster. Han grabbed a bag sitting near his bed, threw it on his shoulder, and looked towards her.

"Ready?"

"Yes, I brought you something." She pointed to the chair beside his dresser. "Hungry?"

For the first time that morning, he smiled at her. "Starved. Thanks."

He quickly ate the fruit, but took the toast and kaffe to go.

They sat in comfortable silence in the ride over to the fleet. Leia was busy fiddling around on her datapad and Han fell into a light sleep. Every so often, Leia would look up at him, feeling it was safe to do so as he slept.

She wanted to know more about him, but didn't know what to ask and how to begin. The few times she had prompted him, he kept his answers brief and didn't divulge any more than was necessary. Leia was curious more than anything and frustrated by his lack of interest in making conversation. If they were going to pretend to be in love, she at least wanted to know who she was in love with. It was also difficult to get a good look at him when he was conscious because any time she looked at him, he made a lewd remark or leered at her. It was unnerving.

A good half hour into the trip, they were almost at the fleet. Leia packed up her datapad and sat back in the seat. She was watching Han again, but didn't realize she was staring until he spoke to her.

His eyes still closed, he said, "See anything you like, Your Highness?"

The stammering she made in response made a wide smirk break across his face and he opened his eyes.

"You were staring."

Leia looked affronted and got defensive. "I was not."

"Yes. You were. I could feel your eyes on me practically this whole trip. I'm intuitive like that."

Leia rolled her eyes and turned to look out the window. The sky was lightening as the sun came up. "You happen to be sitting across from me and I was looking up in thought. Do not take it personally, Captain, because I assure you I was not looking at you."

"Not what it looked like to me."

"Your eyes were closed so you cannot really judge that anyways. And I was looking through you, not at you."

"Not a lot of difference there, princess."

"Don't flatter yourself."

Han just grinned in response, which made her even angrier. Leia sat with her legs and arms crossed tightly, a pose she struck up when she was agitated or defensive. This was a bit of both. Han just kept laughing to himself as he looked out the window.

A few minutes later, they were on the Falcon preparing for take-off. Leia dropped her bag off in the main cabin, knowing she would meet some resistance later.

Chewie was there to see them off. He didn't say much, but patted Han affectionately on the shoulder and smiled at Leia, though had she not known it was a friendly gesture she may have felt intimidated otherwise. Chewie hopped into the hoverlimo they had just came from and headed back towards the palace.

Sitting in the cockpit, Leia watched as Han performed his pre-flight rituals. He seemed so much more at ease being on his ship, but his face was so serious as he worked. After typing in the coordinates and pressing a bunch of buttons Leia wasn't exactly sure what they meant, he nodded for her to put on her crash webbing.

"Ready for the real Millennium Falcon experience?"

"As I'll ever be, I suppose."

Han grinned and turned back to the controls. "Glad to see you knew not to sit in the co-pilot's chair. She might not take-off with you sitting next to me because you offended her so rudely."

Leia rolled her eyes again. "I am sitting here only for the initial take-off. Once we are in hyperspace I will leave you alone with your ship."

"I think after this first flight you'll see her in a completely different light."

"I certainly hope she exceeds my painfully low expectations."

Han didn't answer, as he took the Falcon up and into the air. A few minutes later, they were flying comfortably in hyperspace.

"Alright, Your Royalness. We've got just over a full day ahead of us until we rendezvous with the Rebellion. Food's fully stocked in the kitchen unless Chewie's been eating it all during his midnight snacks. You know where the main fresher is and I had Chewie set up a cot for you in the hold."

He couldn't contain a smirk as she tried to hide her expression of horror.

"Ah, I'm just teasing sweetheart. You can have the main cabin. Chewie even put fresh sheets on the bed for you, the big lug. I'll take the cot because I don't need as much _privacy_."

Leia looked taken aback. "That's very generous of you, Captain, are you sure?"

Han shrugged.

She sat still for a moment, touched, before continuing. "Alright then. Shall we debrief?"

"Nah, we have plenty of time for that. I'm gonna go back to sleep."

"I-"

He interrupted her. "Trust me, we'll have plenty of time later. I promise I'll be at full attention for you in a few hours."

He stood up from his chair and stretched. "You should probably get some rest too. You look_ real_ tired."

Leia tried not to look offended. "I didn't think I needed to dress up for you and your ship, Captain. Especially as we won't be going anywhere for the next 24 hours or so."

"_Relax_, sweetheart. I didn't mean anything like that. You've got dark rims around your eyes and I know for a fact you don't get much sleep while at home. You told me so yourself last night. Now you've got nothing else to do, might as well try and catch up on sleep."

He had surprised her again. Leia stood up from her chair. "Oh. Right. Well then, Cap- Han, I suppose I will take your advice. Now you're sure you don't mind me using your cabin?"

She watched him shrug as he walked away from the cockpit into the hold. Leia followed, but headed towards the cabin, his cabin. It was a little odd for her to be sleeping in his bed, but since Chewie had changed the sheets, it didn't feel that intrusive.

Laying down, she noted that the bed was rather comfortable. She looked around her once more before pulling the covers up over her and closing her eyes. Drifting off to sleep, Leia was determined to get to know more about Han Solo when she woke up. Whether that meant prying it directly from the source himself or trying to pick together pieces about him from his belongings, she wasn't particularly picky.


	9. Chapter 9

"I refuse to eat that."

"It's good. Trust me."

"Somehow I can't quite bring myself to do that."

"What's the harm in trying? Just a little."

"It looks far spicier than I can handle."

"Looks can be deceiving, sweetheart."

The smile he gave her made her heart race and her eyes roll into the back of her head.

"Must you turn everything into an innuendo?"

Han tried to give her his best look of innocence. "Whatdya mean? You've got a dirty mind, princess."

"Right. Like you weren't thinking it."

"Just try the damn stew."

"No thank you."

"I'm not making anything else."

"I can wait."

"It's like a full day's away. You have to eat. Just try it. If you don't like it then I'll make you something else."

"No." Leia pushed the bowl away from her even further across the table and crossed her arms. She felt slightly silly and childish, but she couldn't give in and let him win.

He sighed in exasperation. "You're too stubborn for your own good." He sat down roughly on the chair across from hers and started eating his own bowl.

"I'm too stubborn? Please."

"It's delicious. Best thing I can make."

Leia looked down at the brown, chunky stew. "It does look like something you would make."

Han laughed. "Is that supposed to be an insult?"

She shrugged her shoulders and sighed in response. "Can we please just move on and start our discussions about the Rebellion? There's a lot you need to learn and I'm afraid we don't have much time to catch up."

Han looked at her with a suspicious glint in his eyes. "Not much time, sweetheart, we're gonna be stuck here for hours on end. I hope all you want to say doesn't take up an hour of that time, never mind all of it."

"Han, this is serious business."

"And I'm seriously already bored."

"You are impossible."

Han smirked as he continued eating his stew. He watched as Leia would glance occasionally between him and the bowl. His smirk widened.

"Tell you what, sweetheart. You try the stew and I'll be at my best behavior."

"I am not eating it."

"Just try it."

"How do I know you'll actually listen?"

"You've gotta trust me."

Leia raised an eyebrow as she leaned back in her chair. Han laughed outloud.

"You're going to have to raise the stakes, captain."

"Even higher than me letting you stay in my cabin? Eat my food? Locking myself up in you castle while you strut around doing whatever it is you do? And, jetting you around to wherever you want to go? Risking my life?"

"I suppose you might have a point."

"You suppose." Han finished his meal and wiped his mouth clean with the back of his hand.

"It's not like the conditions are horrid. You're just a little bored. And you like the danger. I can sense it in you."

"Sense it?" He wrinkled his eyebrows in doubt and confusion.

"I have a certain way of understanding people."

"Mhmm."

"If I eat this will you stop complaining about how bored you are?"

"Probably not."

Leia rolled her eyes, but pulled the bowl back towards her anyways. She was starving. Picking up the spoon, she took the tiniest bit and ate it. It wasn't as spicy as she expected and it was actually quite good. Not wanting to give Han too much satisfaction, she tried to play it casual.

"Not bad for someone of your questionable tastes."

Han was looking too proud of himself in Leia's opinion. He watched as she continued to eat.

"It's a bit milder than I would usually make it for Chewie and me 'cus I figured you'd make a fuss. They're great chefs, acclaimed and all that, but all of your workers seem to be afraid to even pick up a spice."

"Grandmother has a weak stomach."

Han quirked an eyebrow, but didn't ask for clarification. When she finished, he grabbed both of their bowls and went to bring them to the sink. He sat back down and motioned Leia towards the sink.

"What?" She asked.

"I cooked, you do the dishes."

"Excuse me?"

"Please?"

Leia rolled her eyes, but got up anyways. "I suppose it would be the right thing to do. But you'll have to listen."

Han leaned back in his chair and threw his feet up onto the table with his hands behind his head.

"Alright, let's hear it."

"Well, I haven't been there in quite some time, but you've heard about the destruction of the Death Star, I assume?"

"Sure, it was all over the holos."

"After the initial excitement, it was clear that there was still much to be done. For one thing, Vader and the Emperor are still very much alive and reigning."

"The machine and squishy old man, sure."

Leia looked at him exasperatedly, but seemed amused.

"The diplomatic way of explaining things. Anyways, there are rumors of a second Death Star on the side of the Empire, but I have also heard rumblings of a possible Jedi on the side of the Rebellion."

Han rolled his eyes and Leia was quick with a response. "I know what you're thinking, Han, and I too hold your suspicions. However, even General Rieekan seems to be excited about him and he usually keeps his emotions tightly under wraps."

"So what are we gonna do?"

"Offer support any way we can."

Han stood up and walked over to where she was standing at the sink. He took the freshly cleaned dishes and started drying them.

"We? You more like."

"I just wish there was some way I could prolong my stay."

"Why can't you?"

"You're trying to distract me."

"Just answer the question."

Leia finished washing the last bowl and handed it to him for drying. She poured herself a glass of water and sat back down at the table.

"In my position, it would be very dangerous for me to take such a public role in the Rebellion. As it is, I shouldn't be taking the risk, but I'm afraid I can no longer sit idly by and wait for the galaxy to right itself."

"Don't matter whether you act or don't, sweetheart. There's always gonna be trouble."

"That doesn't mean we can't try to fix things."

Han rolled his eyes. "You were saying?"

"I've said it before. My sacrifice would extend far past myself or my family, but to my people who do not need to be caught up in this war if they don't have to."

Han stared at her for a few seconds in contemplation, as though thinking of which way to continue the conversation.

"You should try to smile more."

Leia had been staring off into nothing, but turned quickly to look at him. "Excuse me?"

"You only ever smile when you have to fake it. It might make you look younger. At least once in awhile."

"Perhaps there is not much in the world that is worth smiling over right now."

Han looked at her and Leia had to resist turning away because his gaze was so serious. He stood up and cleared his throat.

"Alright, well. If that could be it for now, I think I'd like to go pilot my ship."

"It's in hyperspace."

Han looked back at her from the doorway and grinned. "Maybe I just want some peace and quiet time in the cockpit of my ship away from Her Highness."

Leia rolled her eyes. "Fine, but you're lucky I need to do a few things on my datapad. I'll be in in a little while and we can go over more of what we were supposed to be discussing."

"I'm sure we will."

She watched as he walked down the hallway before heading towards his cabin. It was quite cozy and she had slept amazingly well, better than she had in awhile. Sitting up in the bed, Leia found that it was comforting to be working here. She was used to sitting up straight, working at a desk all day, but there was something to this method.

After a few hours, she felt herself growing tired and wondered if Han had a water or sonic fresher. Not surprised to find that it was indeed water, the man would never deny himself such a luxury, she undressed and went about untying her hair. She stayed under the warm stream longer than she should have. When she got out, her skin was pruned, but she felt relaxed.

Having dressed and thrown her hair up in a quick braid, Leia decided she had given Han sufficient alone time. It was time the captain learned her whole spiel. After all, it had been awhile since she could so openly talk about the Rebellion.

When she entered the cockpit, Leia was taken aback by the combination of the silence and the stream of hyperspace in front of her. Han was sitting up, asleep in his chair. He looked so peaceful in his dream-filled state that she couldn't bear to wake him. Instead, she sat down in the chair diagonally across from him, never one to believe in superstition but afraid the ship wouldn't hold out and not wanting to mess with it. He began to snore quietly, but Leia found that she didn't mind the sound.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I apologize for the delay in updates, but I fell behind in writing and have been busy finishing up with school. There should be chapters coming more regularly in a few weeks. Hope you're still interested and enjoying!**

The remainder of the flight had been smooth and Leia was in high spirits heading towards the Rebel Base. She was excited to be back and determined to do something productive to aid them during her short visit. Han did not seem to match her excitement with such fervor, and though he rolled his eyes or made a crude joke every so often, he did seem to listen to what she said. She supposed that was all she could ask for at this point.

As far as she knew at this point, there was nothing major planned in the Rebellion's agenda. They were hiding out on Yavin, deciding what their next strategy would be. Though the Death Star had been destroyed, rumors were running rampant about a possible second Death Star. The Empire had suffered dramatic losses in regards to their manpower and their big super weapon, but so long as the Emperor and Vader lived, the Empire would reign.

Leia was sitting in the cockpit, waiting anxiously in the last few minutes before they would be dropping out of hyperspace. Han, who she could barely drag away from his chair for even minutes at a time, had stepped into his cabin for a few minutes, saying he had a few things to do without her in there.

He had been teasing her, and had she not been so focused on the Rebellion, she might have taken offense. It had been his idea to let her stay in his cabin in the first place, so really he couldn't complain. The man was beyond confusing.

When Han returned, he looked freshly showered and shaved. She watched as he nodded to her, sitting in her designated spot diagonally behind him, sat down in his chair, and took control of his ship. As he took the Falcon out of hyperspace, Leia was hypnotized by how adept he was with the control panel. He didn't have to think twice about what to do, and it almost seemed as though the ship was anticipating his every movement before he even did it.

She found her eyes moving up from his hands and examined his face from her side perspective. He looked so serious, but at complete ease. She hadn't realized he turned around until it was too late. Han caught her staring and was now smirking down at her.

"Can I help you with something, princess?"

Leia couldn't help the light pink blush that spread across her face and down to her neck. She sat back in her chair and tried to find her composure.

"Nothing at all, captain. I was merely noticing how serious you look when piloting your ship. You're always going on about 'relaxation' and how I should smile more. Perhaps you should take your own advice?"

Han's smile widened, but he didn't say anything as he turned back towards the window and sat down in his chair.

"Strap in, I'm about to take her down."

Leia felt unsettled. It would have been better if he had made a snide remark. Now she felt as though he had won, and it didn't like it. She hesitated, trying to think up something to say, but deciding silence was best at this point, heaved a mental sigh and clicked on her protective straps.

She watched as the ship slid smoothly through the atmosphere. If she was feeling generous, which she wasn't, she might have complimented the ship. The look of pride on his face told her just how much he impressed himself. Leia rolled her eyes and undid her protective straps. Standing up, she took a long look outside the window.

They were coming up on Yavin, quite a beautiful planet. Though she didn't think it could compare to Alderaan, she enjoyed visiting Yavin as it was much cleaner and safer than other planets she could have been sent to, Tatooine for example.

Feeling her excitement building, she rushed off to the cabin without a word to get her things in order. She heard Han call out to her, but she ignored him and continued on with her business.

* * *

><p>Han was feeling a little underwhelmed by the Rebellion. The fleet was small and after he was introduced to Riekkan, the general and Leia had gone off for some important business meeting, and Han was left on his own to check out all the ships. None of them could compare to the Falcon and he almost felt bad.<p>

It was too bad Chewie wasn't there because Han could have used some company that didn't come in the form of a diminutive, snooty princess. He supposed she could be fun when she wanted to be, but that was only when he could distract her long enough to get her mind off of work. That lasted mere seconds at a time.

Planning on heading back to his ship to see if there was anything he could tinker around with, he heard a voice call out to him. He suppressed an urge to roll his eyes and turned towards the voice.

"Yeah?"

Rushing towards him was a young, excited looking boy with blond hair. As he got closer, Han realized the boy wasn't as young as he thought. He watched him with slight interest.

"You're Captain Solo, no?"

Han smirked. "Of the Millennium Falcon? That's right."

The boy frowned for a second and shook his head. "The what?"

Han's smile faded. "You've never heard of the Falcon?" He pointed back towards his ship from across the fleet. The young man's eyes followed Han's finger, but he didn't look impressed.

"That thing?" Han was about to retort, but the man continued. "Anyways, you're the guy engaged to the princess? Of Alderaan?"

Han almost forgot that he was still supposed to put up the façade here. He nodded. "That's right. What's it to you."

The man shook his head and smiled as he stuck out his hand. "Nothing, I just wanted to introduce myself. I'm a big fan of the princess'. She's done quite a bit for the Rebellion from what I've heard, but I've never gotten to meet her or see her in action."

Han didn't like the flush that was taking over the man's face as he talked about the princess. He felt defensive, so he stood a little taller and crossed his arms at his chest.

The man pulled his hand back, looking a little confused. "Uh, well, anyways-" He looked around, scratching his neck nervously.

"Your name?" Han's voice was gruff.

"What?" The man was looking more and more uncomfortable, but Han felt it was deserved as the guy insulted his ship and obviously had a crush on the woman he was supposed to be engaged to.

"Oh, uh, right. The name's Luke Skywalker."

Han let the name roll off his tongue. "Skywalker. Sounds familiar."

The man looked interested, but Han shook it off. It was probably nothing.

"What do you do around here, Skywalker?" Luke didn't answer. "Kid?" Han turned around to see what was attracting the kid's attention. He saw Leia and Riekkan walking towards him. For some reason, Han did not like this at all.

"Hiya, sweetheart. Miss me?" Leia ignored him and walked right up to Luke, making Han scowl.

The exchange did not go unnoticed by Riekkan or Luke, but neither man said a word about it. Riekkan introduced the pair, but was called off somewhere else.

"Commander Skywalker, it's a pleasure to meet you." Leia stuck out her hand and Luke took it with excitement.

He bent down and kissed her hand as he said, "Princess, it's an honor to meet you."

Han rolled his eyes, watching the exchange. When Luke held on a little too long for his liking, Han stepped towards Leia and put his arm around her waist, pulling her towards him. After all, she was supposed to be his fiancée and he didn't want to blow their cover now. He had a lot of money riding on it.

Leia looked up at him briefly with a quizzical look on her face, but turned back towards Luke after a moment.

"Commander-"

"Please, Your Highness, call me Luke." The royal title was not spoken with the same sarcasm Han usually reserved for it and the exchange made her smile.

"In that case, then call me Leia." Luke blushed and Han tightened his grip around her waist. "Anyways, I've heard so much about you. Playing such an integral part in destroying the Death Star. And the rumors about you being a Jedi Knight?"

Luke's blush deepened, he appeared wholly uncomfortable, but proud by the princess' compliments. Han almost laughed, but for some reason it was annoying him.

"Well, someone had to do it. But I guess you could call me a Jedi in training. I've been training every off chance I get from my work with the Rebellion."

Leia asked, "With Obi Wan Kenobi?"

"You know him?" Han was getting bored with the conversation, but the name did sound familiar to him.

"Yes, of course. He's an old friend of my father's."

Luke's smile brightened. "Mine too," His smile faltered, but he recovered quickly. "I'd bring you to him, but he went off this weekend. He wouldn't tell me where, but said it had something to do with my training. Sounded very interested to meet with you about something though."

Leia looked curious and her and Luke continued speaking about Rebellion matters. Han, who had been forced out of his embrace with Leia as she pulled away from him to have a more active conversation with Luke, was now standing to the side. He tried to follow, but it was a lot of the same crap he'd heard from Leia on the flight over and he was getting tired of it. With the Jedi revelation, he was even more skeptical of the kid. He never did believe any of that mumbo jumbo stuff.

Han was tuned out and he didn't realize Luke had left until he looked down to find Leia tapping her foot and staring at him with impatience.

"Hello? Earth to captain? Did you hear what I said?"

He hadn't, but he didn't want her to know that. "Sure, yeah. Whatever."

"So you don't mind eating in the mess hall? I know you were going on and on earlier about not wanting to eat that crap, and I suppose you don't have to, but as my official consort, I think it would be best if we did things like this together. It will be a nice chance to meet more members and you can get a real look at how they live."

Han couldn't disagree at this point because he technically had already agreed.

"Yeah sure."

Leia looked at him skeptically. "You know, you could really learn a thing or two from Luke, Han. He's so young, but so determined to do good in this galaxy. To have done so much already! And he lost his entire family. If it hadn't been for Obi Wan I don't know where he would be. Or where the galaxy would be, since the Death Star might still exist. He appreciates the cause."

She said the last bit with deep-seated condescension.

"I appreciate the cause, sweetheart. I just don't wanna be a part of it. Now if you'd prefer to eat rations for dinner fine, but I'm not sleeping anywhere else but my ship. Got it?"

Leia smirked and led the way towards the dining hall. She felt invigorated being back in the midst of the battle and couldn't wait to get her hands dirty. If only she didn't have a certain pilot following her around all the time, she might have really enjoyed it.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: I know it's been an embarrassing amount of time since I last updated, though I'm not sure how it's almost been three years. I do apologize, but know that I kept thinking how I needed to update and finish it off, but life does get in the way. Please be patient with me. I do promise it will be finished. I hope you enjoy!**

Despite himself, Han was enjoying dinner. He may not be the most sentimental man, but he knew how to socialize. The distance from people was of his own choosing, though his tolerance of others was higher when he knew he wasn't going to be sticking around. Over the years, he had learned the hard way that people were prone to disappoint you if you gave them enough time.

One weekend here and there with men and women whose passion for flying and defying authority mirrored his own, was something he could even get excited about. With one eye on the princess, sitting upright, her legs crossed under the table, careful to maintain eye contact and give the appropriate responses to those in which she was conversing, Han helped himself to another tankard of beer. If Chewie were here, or even if the princess were paying him any attention, they would have tried to dissuade him with a judgmental glance or shake of the head. It was only his second and with how everyone else was behaving, he was having a mild night.

Over the past few hours that they'd all been communing, Han had met quite a few soldiers, including Riekkan, who had quickly established himself as another father figure to Leia. Though the man's kindness and respect had never hesitated, it was clear to Han that with every word and action, he was being carefully considered.

During the conversation between Bail and Leia regarding how much Riekkan could know about her and Han's true relationship, Han had only been half-listening, instead preferring to think of his ship and how nice it would feel to fly far away from Alderaan and its royalty. All he needed to know was the end decision, which was that it was better to keep the secret to as few people as possible, no matter how much they trusted the man. In Han's meeting with the man, the pair had been introduced and it had been explained to Riekkan that Han could be trusted and would go wherever Leia went, both for the purpose of their relationship and Leia's well-being. There had been mention that it was lucky in a way that they had fallen in love when they did because it also acted as a convenient cover for Leia's involvement with the Rebellion. Sitting with him now in person, without Bail or Leia, Han felt as though the man could see right through the charade, but was too polite to call them out on it.

Riekkan had only a few minutes to spare before he made his way through the crowd and out of the mess hall. Han watched him leave before turning his attention back to the princess. Her arms, that had been wound tight around her once she had finished her rations, were now moving animatedly about as she spoke with a group of soldiers. Noticing the eager-eyed Luke Skywalker standing close behind her, nodding along with every word, seemingly unblinking as he watched her, Han thought it was in their best interest to play his part a little more actively. It didn't bode well for their relationship if he sat back impassively as his fiancée rambled.

Standing up from his seat, Han stretched and listened to what Leia was saying. He allowed her to continue on her spiel for a few moments about what she suspected civilian opinion on the Empire and the war was, before nudging the man who had introduced himself as Wedge out of the seat closest to Leia and threw his arm around her. For her part, she didn't break her speech or acknowledge his presence, but he did feel her tense once they made contact. Smirking, he pulled her closer against him, noting that Skywalker's face had now turned to a frown. He was contemplating testing his limits, to see how much he could get away with before Leia pushed him away from her and took off running, but he found he was enjoying the drum of her voice.

It wasn't so much the content that she was discussing, but the passion and fervor for which she intonated. Han suspected that when she was talking about the Rebellion, it was the closest to the real Leia that she ever revealed. There was a nice rosiness growing in her cheeks that he felt suited her, a distinction between the simple, pure white clothes she so often adorned.

He was studying an intriguing curl that had fallen out of her braid, so tempted to reach out and touch it, when she stood up and sent him nearly flying off the bench.

"Oh, so sorry, dear. You mustn't have heard me. I've got that meeting I was telling you about earlier. Most everyone else is sticking around here if you want to stay."

Her voice was sweet in the sick way that made Han's stomach growl with interest. He enjoyed their banter, particularly when she initiated it.

Finding his balance, he stood to face her full on, looked down, and smiled, mischief in her eyes. He hoped her stomach dropped too.

"I think I've had my fill actually. I'll just come along with you."

"That won't be necessary."

"But princess, I've just arrived, and there's so much I need to learn about our cause."

"I hardly think a short meeting would be sufficient enough to offer you a decent explanation of the cause. Spending time here, with the people who are deeply involved, especially with your skill set, would be far more beneficial."

"Our cause. What's yours is mine, sweetheart. Remember? We're in this together."

He could tell she was holding back a scoff. Instead, she said, "There's a lot I need to catch up on for _our _cause and there's simply not enough time at the moment to fill you in."

"Sounds to me like you're trying to skip out on me."

"That's exactly what-"

But then she noticed that they were still surrounded by an eager, interested crowd. With a deep breath, she collected herself and smiled.

"I just meant that we had a long day and I'm certain you've had a full serving of information slammed at you since the beginning. I thought you would better enjoy yourself in a more relaxing environment, but by all means, _darling, _please do join me."

Han couldn't help the smirk that crossed his face, watching her grow flustered, panicked, and faux-adoring all at once. The rosiness had turned into a full blush. Taking her hand, he guided her out of the mess hall and steeled himself for when they would be alone and she wouldn't have to put on a show. He was looking forward to it.

"I've just got to get a few things off the Falcon, Han, if you want to wait here."

"No way I'm letting you anywhere near my ship alone, princess."

"Don't you mean _our _ship? What's yours is mine."

"Sure, sweetheart, we can go back to the ship." His voice grew louder as Leia's eyes grew bigger. "Just can't keep me there for too long or we'll be late for our meeting. Sneaking away like this, honestly, I expected more."

Storming away from him, he followed eagerly. 

The man was incorrigible. Leia hadn't anticipated that it would be even more difficult to pretend that they were a couple in love at the Rebellion because she thought it would be easier to keep away from him. With all of these people surrounding them, she hoped that Han would be less bored, therefore less inclined to follow her around with his taunts and teasing. Instead, he seemed revitalized by this change of pace, and perhaps the loss of the presence of her father, and was making a sport of getting her to blush.

She was afraid that he was seeing her blushes as ones of excitement or interest, when it was born from frustration and anger. During the moments when they were alone, safely tucked into the Falcon, she made it a point to show that she had no patience for him.

At the meeting the night before, Leia had been impressed with his presence. At first, when Han proved that he would not be content to just sit and listen, she had been afraid that he would try to turn everything into a big joke. Despite herself, she found his comments and perspectives were fresh and meaningful, so different, yet well-intentioned, for the cause. It was as though he belonged there with the rest of them.

She made it a point to allow him a pass later on for the way he had acted in the mess hall. The meeting, as it always did, ran later than was intended, particularly because there were so few times they could all meet in person, without the risk of outside forces. When they broke up and said their goodnights, Leia accepted Han's hand and walked back with him to the ship.

"Not sleeping with the ranks?"

"Dinner is one thing, but I can't expect them to change things up and make room for me every time I come. It's tedious. Besides, I'm certain everyone is sleeping."

The yelling and laughter lingering down the hallway from the mess hall betrayed her.

Han chuckled but didn't say anything.

"Fine, I prefer to sleep in a normal bed. I know that's horrible because here they are every day of the week slumming it for the Rebellion, risking their lives, sacrificing comforts, and the princess, who comes on her off days from her castle and her canopy bed, can't bring herself to slum it with them."

"You said it. sweetheart, not me."

"I know what you're thinking."

"It's exactly what I would do."

"That only makes it worse."

The man they recognized as Wedge walked past them with a woman, both giggling and running off away from the crowd of the mess hall. Leia felt Han pull his hand out of hers and wrapped it around his shoulders.

"Ah, young love. See? It's not all bad for 'em. And it wouldn't be good for a princess to sleep in close quarters with such promiscuity. The Falcon is your safe haven."

"They'll write on my tombstone, 'death by Falcon.'"

"At least they'll never figure out you're with the Rebellion."

"I shouldn't be laughing about such serious matters."

"It's late, I won't hold it against you."

Looking up at him, she sensed that he was as sleepy as she was. His eyes were drooping and she found that the only way they were able to make it back to the ship was by leaning on the other. It was comforting in an odd way. As a diplomat, she knew there were deeper intentions and feelings to people that they didn't always show, but Solo was still surprising her. It was a skill almost, how quickly he could turn from an egomaniac show-off to a considerate leader of sorts. She just wished his antics weren't always aimed at her.

Her voice was softer than she intended, as though she was sharing a secret. Part of it must be it because if he hadn't taken her by such surprise and perhaps if it wasn't so late, she wouldn't have said it at all.

"You were good in there, Han."

All he offered was a raised eyebrow and half a smirk.

She continued, "I didn't think you had it in you, talking about matters like that. With such…knowledge."

"Yeah, well, I'm a smuggler. I get around. You tend to see the worst in people and if you can't recognize it for what it is and how to get around things, then you won't last long here."

"I sometimes feel that the Rebellion is taking too careful an approach. I understand that there's so much at stake, but if we keep waiting for the Empire to strike, then we'll never know how to react in aggressive situations."

There was the smirk again.

"Are you saying I'm right?"

She wanted to roll her eyes. "Hardly. I'm merely implying that you made a few strong points that I believe would be in our best interest to further consider."

"You've got a lot to say."

"And you always have something to throw right back at me."

They had made it back to the ship. In the darkened area, with just a few rays of light reflecting off of it, Leia didn't find it quite as ugly as she usually did. Han was plugging in the code and was half-way up the ramp, but she hesitated. It felt different, more personal to go back onto the ship, as though something had changed between them.

In time, perhaps even in the next few minutes, she was certain that he would say something to aggravate her, causing her to deny that she was even considering this, but she found that when he wasn't acting like a nerfherder, and sometimes, even when he was, she quite liked his company. There was a trust building between them, which she figured was a good attribute to have in a bodyguard. He also didn't treat her the way everyone else in her life did, with such reverence.

Even in the Rebellion, she was still treated as a princess. People waited for her to speak to them first, they were fearful of maintaining eye contact, and paid closer attention to how they were acting. They weren't themselves around her. Winter, who was her closest and oldest friend, was not quite as bad, but there were times when even she acted as though there was a barrier between them, as though Leia was on a pedestal. The harder she pushed to get away from such a stigma, the more people seemed to latch onto it.

Han, with his innuendos and inappropriate remarks, however infuriating, made her feel as though she were a person, not just a figure. It was confusing, sobering, and exciting all at once.

"Hey, princess!" His loud voice barked down at her, pulling her from her reverie. People walking back to their quarters or out for a stroll turned their attention towards her.

"I'm ready for that alone time you were so looking forward to."

When she was certain the blush was gone from her face, Leia pulled herself together and walked back up the ramp, finding him standing there with a giant smirk on his face. She went to bed without a word to him.


	12. Chapter 12

The weekend passed by far too quickly for Leia's liking. Every time she left the Rebellion, she felt as though she were betraying her true self. It took quite a bit more energy to spend time at home with the cheery, royal façade of a young woman in the prime of her life. Now she was supposed to be in love, and faking that did not come easily.

She hadn't seen Han the entire day before as she was off in meetings and he was grouching around his ship fixing whatever piece had broken down now. When she made her way back to the ship the night before, she had felt an odd sensation in her stomach and felt a grin surface as she glanced at him.

Regaining control, she wiped it from her face and offered her fiercest look of contempt. Leaning against the doorway of the cockpit, she watched as he fiddled with the controls before clearing her throat and drawing his attention to her.

"Will we be ready to go tomorrow?"

He was filthy from the dust, grime, and grease of working all day, from his hair to his clothes. From the light in his eyes, she could tell he was as exhausted and exhilarated as she felt from putting in a full day's work. Passion did a number on one's emotions.

Looking up at her, he smirked. "Sure thing, Your Royalness. Do you have a full itinerary for our day planned out or could you just tell me what time you want to hit the road?"

"I have a few meetings I want to partake in in the morning, early afternoon, but afterwards, I think it would be necessary to head back to Alderaan. We want to arrive when it's still light out so that the public can see their favorite 'lovers' return."

Despite the look of exacerbation she had when she said it, Han stood from his chair and faced her straight on. Though she sensed a hint of a smile, there was a serious huskiness in his voice.

"Lovers? I like the sound of that."

She knew he was egging her on, knew that he enjoyed the blush that rose to her cheeks and the fury in her eyes, but she couldn't control herself around him. It was infuriating. Had she any common sense, she would have turned away and went to bed, but she couldn't bring herself to leave a fight.

Blood rushed up through her ears and she could feel her heart thumping. "You're deluded."

"Forgive me, sweetheart, but you're the one who brought it up."

"As a delusion that we are leading everyone to believe. If you can't separate fact from fiction, then you too are deluded."

She watched him take another step towards her, but she did not back away, no matter that a flush betrayed her cool exterior and she felt as though her heart was now pumping out of her chest. He was a predator, but she refused to be the type of prey who just ran off at the first sign of danger.

His voice was a near whisper as he leaned in. "The line between fact and fiction is always blurred, no matter how hard you try to keep them separate."

For an instant, she could feel his breath against the side of her cheek and her lips parted in anticipation, but he brushed past her, content in believing that he had the final word. She could have let him walk away, but instead she grabbed his arm in the space right below the elbow, holding him there.

"Captain, maybe that's true for someone like you who's run amuck from one side of the galaxy to another for gods knows how long, but I pride myself on my principles and my discipline and don't think for one second that your wily charms and crude innuendos can change that."

She thought she had him for an instant and she couldn't help the pride that rose up in her, which was stifled immediately as his temporary stunned expression changed to one of triumph.

"I knew you thought I was charming."

This time she let him go, unsure as to how she had gone wrong.

* * *

><p>Han was dealing with the repercussions of lack of sleep from the night before as he sat, waiting for the princess to finish her meetings. He didn't believe her to be known for her tardiness, but the longer he sat whittling away the hours, the more impatient he was growing. He was certain that the moment he put the Falcon up into the air, she would reveal another piece of her that needed to be fixed, but at the moment, when he was desperate for something to do with his hands and to distract his mind, he couldn't find it.<p>

He was certain that by the end of their run, she was going to take his sanity. He couldn't stop thinking of her, all the bad and some of the good if he was being honest with himself. She was consuming his life. From the long hours of solitary confinement where she left him to his own mind, the lack of flying and moving and exploring, to being holed up in a castle or a military base, separated from his best friend and oftentimes, his home, he was ready to explode.

The most fun he had these days were teasing her, but it was difficult to do when she made herself scarce. When she was around, she was a fun target because she threw it back in his face. With most of the women he'd spent a few days with, his words would be above their comprehension and they could never maintain the rapport. Part of him enjoyed riling her up, but the better part of him was relieved to have found someone he considered an equal. But Tatooine would freeze over before he ever admitted that to her.

From his view from the cockpit, Han watched as pilots came and went from practice runs or people rushed from meetings to the dining hall. One of the next three figures that approached and stopped outside of his ship looked familiar. He could tell it was the princess immediately, from her short stature and self-important stride he had come to enjoy watching.

Observing the small group, he saw their defined outlines as they stepped into the light. Riekkan shook Leia's hand before placing a gentle squeeze on her upper arm in comfort, as a father might.

The third figure revealed himself to be the over-eager Jedi Han found he couldn't help but like. The kid might be tripping himself over Leia every opportunity that he found, just to speak to her or be close to her, but his innocence and optimism was charming. Though he asked a lot of questions, Luke was an interesting person to have around, especially when Leia wasn't joining them. It was fun to talk to someone about ships, bragging about how fast the Falcon could fly and the heightened thrill of being in the midst of battle.

The kid had done quite an impressive bit of flying during the destruction of the Death Star and Han found himself an active participant and admirer when the princess wasn't part of the conversation, oohing and ahhing at the might of the Rebellion's young hero.

At the moment, his warm feelings for Luke dissipated as the kid leaned forward and clumsily threw his arms around Leia. A smirk rose to his lips as he watched as the princess's first instinct was alarm, before she pulled herself together and offered him a one-armed embrace.

He wasn't willing to let her get off that easily when she finally made her way onto the ship.

When he sensed she was standing in the doorway, he rounded on her. "For someone who's allegedly engaged to be married, I thought you might be more careful than to stand around exciting young heroes."

His desires were satiated when a bright blush crossed her face. "What? Have you been sitting around all day brooding? I invited you to the meetings, you could have made yourself useful."

"I've been working on my ship."

"What else could you possibly have been doing? I'm doubting our chances to even make it back to Alderaan in one piece on this hunk of junk."

"Speaking of making it back, I thought you wanted to get there during daylight. At this point, we'll be lucky if we make it back before tomorrow's sunset."

There was a fierceness in her eyes he hadn't seen before and he found himself wanting to explore that. As he opened his mouth to speak, she cut him off.

"Sometimes there are more important matters than feeding into the public's proclivity for romance. I'm not certain how many times I have to remind you of this, but your number one job is to fly me back and forth between Alderaan and the Rebel Base, while occasionally indulging in people's fantasies of the possibilities between a princess and a heroic captain falling in love."

"You keep talking about all of these different people, but I think you just can't get the images of all of these possibilities go from your mind. If you gave me a chance, I could make them more than just fantasy."

He tried to swipe past her with his final word, but she stood in the doorway, her arms crossed at her chest, blocking him.

"I am a princess and I will not be spoken to in such terms by some- some lousy smuggler who happened to be in the right place at the right time helping the right person. Now sit back down in that chair and get us back to Alderaan as safely as we can in your precious time bomb. If there are any respectable matters in which you wish to discuss, then I will be in the main cabin awaiting our arrival home. I beg you not to bother me."

Listening to her steps fade as she stomped away from him, he grumbled something about begging and went about making take-off preparations. This most recent battle was not the type he enjoyed, based more in condescension rather than the usual angry, heated banter.

By the time he set the Falcon into hyper drive, he had run through all the different ways he could get himself out of this mess. Many of his favorite options included spacing the princess into oblivion, but he knew he would be left facing an angry Wookiee along with the king, and that was not in his favor.

With the princess holed up in his cabin, Han stuck his feet up in the co-pilot's chair and leaned back, willing himself to sleep for a few hours, with the promise that upon their arrival back to Alderaan, he was going to tell Bail, and convince Chewie, he wasn't the man for the job.

* * *

><p>Han was in the middle of a pleasant dream when distant screaming tore him out of sleep. It took him several long moments to realize where he was and what those screams might mean, but his feet got him to his cabin before his mind could catch up.<p>

The continued screaming and pleading from Leia prevented him from hesitating at the door as he burst through, ready to face a mysterious attacker. Flicking on the lights, he found the princess writhing around on the bed, limbs attacking, scream after scream emitting from her throat. Faced with the prospect of awaking, and then comforting the princess from a nightmare, Han thought longingly of the physical threat that could have loomed.

Keeping his voice low, he attempted a gentle approach first. His whispers of "Leia-Leia-Leia- were drowned out by the sounds of her wailing, but he found that yelling back at her had no effect. Instead, he made his way over to her and laid a cautious, gentle hand on the arm closest to him. It was difficult to steady her as all four limbs fought to resist, but when he pulled her up into his lap, he waited as her breathing steadied and her body relaxed.

It wasn't as difficult as he presumed to comfort her, keeping an arm behind her back to stabilize her and the other hand stroking the hair she must have unbraided before bed. Han could have been lost in these motions, the beauty in the sensation of relief and peace washing over the sleeping Leia, but he was also on alert, both for signs of a returned nightmare and an awakening princess.

One eye opened, then the next. At first, she was as disoriented as he had been by his abrupt alarm, but her eyes widened in realization and her body flinched at the contact. Expecting a loud, menacing spiel about holding her in his lap, one arm around her in a semi-hug and the other weaving long strokes through her hair, instead, the voice that spoke out to him was soft and questioning.

"Alderaan, it-."

"S'only a nightmare. You can try to go back to sleep if you want. I'll just-"

He went to extract his arms from around her and push off from the bed, but as she sat up, she held him there. His eyes were trained on their conjoined palms, relishing in the sensation of it, but her serious tone drew him back to attention.

"It was more than a dream, Han, I-I-I saw it happen, it- it felt so real."

"They always do until a little later and you'll forget all about it. I'm sure you're just anxious to get back home and with the war and everything."

"It exploded into a million little pieces."

"That's impossible, sweetheart. Nothing in this galaxy is big enough to-"

"The Death Star could've done it, I heard rumors all about it."

Han frowned, but then offered her a smile. "Then it's a good thing your Rebellion took care of it."

She ignored his wink, looking deep in thought. "Thank the gods for Luke for that."

Standing abruptly, he allowed her hand to drop from his. They both looked at each other in alarm, her just realizing that they had been holding hands.

"Sure, yeah," he grumbled. "The kid is a regular hero."

"Han, I-"

"Listen, why don't you try to lay down. Focus on your breathing or something and try to forget all about that nightmare. S'all it was, I promise. No more Death Stars, no exploding planets."

"It's strange. I had a weird feeling about it, like it was happening in some alternate universe."

She was pleading with herself to understand as much as him. He allowed her a moment of ponderous silence before attempting to lighten the mood.

"Now you're just speaking crazy talk." He was pleased by the pinkness that appeared on her cheeks, seeing that she was relaxing and starting to swipe the memory of the dream away.

"Get some rest, I'm sure you haven't slept well while we were on base and gods knows how much sleep you get back at the palace. We'll be there in just a few time parts. Not too long after sunset, actually. I did a little maneuvering."

He wasn't certain why he so enjoyed bragging to her, but the small smile she returned was worth it. As he turned off the light, he heard her yawn and call out to him.

"Han? Why don't you lie down in here on the spare mattress. Just in case I- Well, it's far more comfortable then stuffing yourself into that pilot's chair in any case."

Lying down just a few feet away from her on the lumpy old mattress he couldn't bring himself to space, he expected that he would have too much to contemplate that would keep him awake, but the next thing he realized, the Falcon's alarms were blazing, signaling that they were coming out of hyperspace.

Leia came out of the cabin several minutes after he had, in time for landing. Though she did not speak of her nightmare or any of the conversation they had partook in just a few hours before, she was considerably warmer to him than she had ever been. Some nasty remark about the Falcon's landing capabilities may have been sitting on her tongue, but she kept it to herself, remaining silent as he landed the ship.

It was with a renewed resolve to perhaps stick this job out for its duration after all, since it would be well worth the money and the freedom it would allot from Jabba, or that was what Han kept reminding himself as he stole quick glances at the quiet princess who sat in her now designated space, diagonally behind him. Every so often, he couldn't help but feel as though she might just be watching him as well.

Despite himself, a smile grew as he saw the figure that was waiting for them to land come into view, which turned into a full on laugh at Leia's reaction.

"What d'you reckon could Grandma Organa be up to now, princess?"

Her eyes creased in concentration to go along with her frown. "Whatever it is, I have a bad feeling about it."

Han did not have a bad feeling about the smile she provided him in return.


	13. Chapter 13

She took his breath away. Grandma Organa had thrown her arms around his neck in a crushing hug, while Leia laughed behind them. Once he was able to tear the old woman off of him, she turned on the princess to welcome her home.

"Leia, dear. The entire point of a vacation is to relax. You look exhausted."

Her expression suddenly stern, one hand on her hips, she wagged a finger at them. "I've been waiting all day for the two of you. You said to expect you this afternoon and yet, you show up hours later. I hope you haven't had too much fun."

"Sorry, Grandmother, but we-"

"Ran into a spot of trouble, but nothing I couldn't handle," Han cut off Leia.

Grandma Organa's eyes lit up in excitement and curiosity.

"What sorta trouble?"

"Of the romantic variety-" Han started.

"Absolutely, not! Capt-Han, please, this is my Grandmother you are speaking to."

Han winked at Grandma Organa who looked delighted.

"All lovers fight, darling. It makes things far more exciting. Not that you need that with such a stud around, but it never hurts."

Leia shook her head at them, while Grandma Organa accepted Han's arm as they walked out of the hangar. She waited until they were settled into the car before she explained why she had come.

"You know, I had quite exciting plans for you two love birds. Not that I don't understand why you were so willing to delay your homecoming-I'm not sure you could have dragged me back, darling, but you are far more disciplined than I- anyways, I wanted to meet you at the hangar and take you on a tour of the planet. I think you'll find the scenery to be quite…romantic."

Leia sat next to Grandma Organa with her arms and legs crossed, looking as though the car couldn't move fast enough. Her face was locked in a tight expression, her eyes looking as though she was keeping them from rolling. Han stretched out his legs across from them, his hands behind his head, still looking amused.

"Of course," she continued, "Doing so now would be silly. You need to see it when the sun is shining, though I would recommend a midnight ride just the two of you."

"Some other time then," Leia cut in, trying to end the conversation.

"Funny that you mention that. I took the liberty of checking your calendar and you're free all day tomorrow."

"Grandmother, I'm sorry, but I've been away for too long. I simply have too much work to do. You know how it is to have to catch up on work."

"No fun this one, Han. She acts tough, but you can break her down if you work hard enough. Of course, you don't need me telling you that."

Clearing his throat to try and clear the humor from his voice, Han said, "I think we can reach a compromise, ladies. I'm sure Leia will be up with the sun, that is if she ever gets to bed, but everyone has to break once in awhile. Whaddya say, princess? How about a lunchtime ride, show me some of your favorite sights, allow your grandma some reminiscin', then you can go straight back to your office?"

While Grandma Organa nodded her head appreciatively at Han's words, Leia was giving it more consideration than she normally would have. The dream had shaken her to the core and every so often, she would picture the explosion. Everything had felt so real, as though she hadn't even been asleep. When she came out of her reverie, even finding herself in Han's arms, with his hands petting her hair and rubbing her back, she didn't react. All she could see were the millions of pieces floating in front of her eyes.

Perhaps allotting some time to seeing her home planet, spending time with her grandmother, would be alright. Such things were, after all, exactly what Leia and the Alliance were fighting for against the Empire.

She hadn't realized the pair had continued talking when she cut in mid-conversation. "You know, Grandmother, maybe we will join you tomorrow for a few hours. We could go at lunchtime and bring a picnic. I've always loved that area down by the beach."

"Just where your mother used to take you. Oh, yes!" Grandmother Organa clapped her hands together and smiled wide. "Leia, dear, I admit, I didn't see it at first, but it turns out even you can be influenced by love. Oh, it will be perfect! Such spontaneity! I'll run straight to the kitchen and tell them we'll need their finest foods."

"That won't be necessary. A simple picnic is just fi-"

"Speak for yourself, princess, but I just spent the past few days eating crap rations and-"

"Han!"

"Rations? On vacation?"

"I-uh-I just meant on the ship. We didn't always have time goin' out to eat and all that. It's hard enough to find time alone and-"

"Oh Gods, Captain, stop please."

Han looked sheepish for a moment before breaking into a wide grin. Grandma Organa didn't seem the least bit bothered, while Leia turned crimson.

Grandma Organa swatted Leia's arm playfully as she said, "I understand completely. One time, Leia's Grandfather and I were stuck in hyperspace and-"

"That's enough! The two of you are incorrigible. I've already agreed to coming tomorrow, can that please be it?"

While the two of them continued their rapport, Leia glanced out the window, trying to absorb as much as the scene as possible. So much of her thoughts and energy for the past few years had been on work, that she never took the time to appreciate her surroundings. It was alarming how it took such a shock to get her to do it.

Soon, she recognized the familiar high towers of the palace growing closer. She imagined her father inside, sitting in his office, his head leaning off to the side, resting on his hand, a pen between his teeth, deep in thought. As they pulled through the gates and drove through the garden, Leia remembered her and Winter running around the flowers, lying in the grass, staring up at the sky, and feeling invincible.

Her heart panged with a tremendous thud of urgency, wanting nothing more than to be out of the car and with her loved ones. Tomorrow afternoon suddenly felt light years away. She waited until Han assisted her grandmother out of the car before throwing her arms around the woman, nearly knocking her off her feet. Before the woman could respond, Leia ran through the doors of the palace in search of her father, leaving a bemused grandmother and suspicious Han in her wake.

It was amazing, she mused, how many times she had taken these same steps down this same hallway to her father's office without ever appreciating it. She knew it so well, and yet, as she glanced around, Leia noticed so many intricacies she never bothered to note-the golden trimming around the picture frames of the official photographs of her relatives, the carvings in the wood on the wall, to the gigantic mirror hanging in the middle.

With barely a knock on the door, Leia opened the door to her father's office. As she suspected, Bail was sitting at his desk in his pajamas, reading over a dense looking document, pen between his teeth, his head off to the side, resting on his propped up arm. He looked up to find Leia standing in the doorway.

"Leia- you're home!" His face broke out into a smile when he realized it was her, but seeing her expression, his face fell and eyes looked on her in confusion. "What's wrong?"

She ran over to him and hugged him. Shocked at first, it took Bail a moment to react before he stood and wrapped his arms around her.

"Is something the matter, Leia? I spoke to Rieekan just now and he said things had gone so well during your time there."

She nodded against him.

"Did Captain Solo say something to upset you?"

Leia scoffed at this and pulled away from him. "Nothing unusual that I can't handle. It's just good to see you that's all. Sometimes I forget that there are other important things in life than the cause."

"Something I've been trying to tell you for years, my dear daughter. You got home later than expected."

"I got held up in conversations."

"You mean you held others in conversation."

She offered him a small, half smile.

"I want to hear all about it, but I think it can wait until tomorrow. I'm sure sleeping in Alliance Headquarters wasn't exactly relaxing. What does your afternoon look like?"

"Actually, Grandmother talked me into a tour of the sights and a picnic at the beach. Thinks it would be nice and romantic for Han to see."

Bail raised an eyebrow. "You actually agreed to this?"

"Purely to survey the planet."

"It's okay to enjoy yourself sometimes, Leia. Remember that. Even with all the nastiness and heartbreak in the world, there's goodness too. We must appreciate it."

Leia began to nod, but broke into a wide yawn. Before she turned to go, she gave her father another hug and walked to the doorway. As she was out the door, she heard him say behind her, "Even if Han Solo is along for the ride."

Despite herself, Leia couldn't prevent the blush from creeping up her face. He had meant it to tease her and yet, she couldn't help but recognize a taste of seriousness to his words.

It took Leia far too much time to convince her Grandmother that she was in fact heading to her own room and wouldn't be sneaking into Han's, even if it was okay with the older woman to do so. Her nighttime ministrations were shortened as Leia fell into her bed and had time only to pull her covers up over her before she was asleep.

* * *

><p>Han couldn't deny the wonders in the comfort of fresh sheets and a comfortable pillow. After returning back to the Alderaanian castle, he had commed Chewie to let him know that they were back and that the Wookiee was welcome to check over the ship. It was the Falcon he tried to think of as he drifted into sleep, not the princess whose cold façade had softened at the return to her planet and the people she loved. There was a tenderness alight in her eyes as he watched her look out the window at the scenery and hug her grandmother. It suited her.<p>

Typically, he wasn't one who spent too much time as a tourist of any planet. The places he went and the routes he took depended on the runs he and Chewie had to make and the people they did or didn't want to face. As he felt his eyes grow heavy and his body fall to sleep, Han couldn't deny the bubbling of anticipation building in his stomach for tomorrow afternoon.

* * *

><p>"Mornin' princess."<p>

Han was surprised to find that he and Leia were the only ones in the dining room that morning. Bail and Grandma Organa always made it a point to have meals as a family, but today their usual banter was missing from the large hall. Leia sat alone at the table, a pile of papers to the side of her breakfast plate. He had not timed his greeting at the moment she took a gulp of hot caf, but he did enjoy the reaction when she yelped, grimaced, and stared at him in contempt.

"Captain."

"Whatcha got there?"

"Notes Rieekan gave me before leaving yesterday. There was only so much we could cover while I was there, so this is an attempt to make up for it."

"Thrilling, I'm sure. I thought there was a 'no work at the table' typa rule?"

"As there's no one here at the moment to enforce it, I think I'm safe."

"Whaddya call me?"

"A number of things, but very few that I would say to your face."

Han's face grew into a wide smile. "I think I'd like to hear a few of those actually."

She rolled her eyes as he poured himself a cup of caf and made a plate of food and settled himself down across from her.

"Where is everyone?"

"Father is in his office, working. I'm not even certain he made it to bed last night. Between the two of us spending so much time working with the Alliance, some of the duties to Alderaan have fell to the side, but there's only so much we can hold off on. You know, maybe I should skip lunch today and just-"

"Don't even think about it."

At his abrupt answer, Leia looked up at him, her eye raised in suspicion. "Why would you care so much?"

Han relaxed against the back of his chair, trying to put on an air of nonchalance. "I don't, personally, I just saw how excited yer Grandma was last night and how eager you had been to please her that I think maybe it'd be a good idea to go. 'Sides, yer planet's been thinking we've been away for so long, it might be nice to show face."

"Mmm."

"What's that? Mmm."

"Nothing."

"There's a whole lotta something in that nothin'."

"Captain Solo, if you don't mind, I have a terrible amount of work to do, and since you are so intent on our venture this afternoon, I would appreciate some silence."

"Sure, then if you won't mind, I'm plannin' on heading back down to the Falcon this morning and putting in some work with Chewie. Always good to run inspections after a trip."

"I'm sure it is. Don't rush back on my account."

They finished their breakfast in comfortable silence. Once Han quit his teasing, his presence wasn't altogether unwelcome to Leia. So often, she worked alone cooped up in her office, but for the hours she had spent sitting in the hold or the cockpit of the Falcon, while the captain sat near doing his own work, she hadn't minded it so much.

She only glanced up from her work when she heard the chair scrape back and dishes clinging.

"Where are you going?"

Han gave her a strange look. "Like I said, to the Falcon. Do you listen while other people talk or are you just formulatin' what you can say next?"

"I'm sorry I can't remember every detail of your life."

"We were just talkin' about it, Your Worship."

"Don't call me that."

"Fine, princess."

"Be back before noon."

"I'll get here when I do, I don't work on anyone else's time."

"Clearly."

"That's rich, comin' from you."

Leia pushed away her own chair and stood up, furious. "And what exactly do you mean by that?"

"Nothin', 'cept that yesterday we were s'posed to be getting back early and you took your time schmoozing it up with Rieekan and the kid-"

"Who?"

"Rieekan."

"And-?"

Han hesitated and scratched at the back of his neck. "The kid-Luke-"

"We happened to be having a rather impassioned conversation that I couldn't just walk away from."

"I bet it was."

"What, are you jealous?"

Han laughed out loud. "Ya know what? I don't have time for this. Apparently, I'm on a short leash. I'll see ya at noon, princess. Have fun with your nose stuck up in those papers."

Han thought he heard something about "insufferable" and "pigheaded" behind him, but his blood was boiling and the large dining room suddenly had felt quite small. He wasn't always sure how their arguments had begun, and it wasn't that he disliked them entirely, but they always left him overcome with a mix of different emotions he didn't want to analyze. He knew his final words were weak as far as making a point, but he was afraid she had cut it too close to the problem. Thankfully, he was good at leaving, which was what he did.

When he got to the Falcon, he found the ramp down in welcome and the Wookiee working on top of the ship. Han waved up at him before making his way into his cabin. As soon as he walked in, he realized his mistake. Though she had spent only a few days in there, the princess had quickly overtaken his belongings.

A faint sweet smell of flowers hung in the air, infiltrating his nostrils. A small duffle bag lay at the feet of his bed atop rumpled sheets, and he noticed long brown hairs lying on his pillow. In the fresher, Leia had left her beauty products, which seemed unlike her. She must have been in a rush to get back home.

Han had half a mind to chuck all of her things into a waste basket, but instead, he took the bag and placed all of her things into it. He was less graceful with the sheets, especially the one on his pillow as he stuffed them into a laundry cycle.

In the fresher, he luxuriated in his own space, scrubbing hard under the steaming hot shower and trying to focus on building a mental list of things he wanted to do this morning. After he was dressed and convinced that most of his cabin was princess-free, Han made his way to Chewie and the pair of them worked on the ship well into the morning.

It was nearly noon when he thought to check the time, causing him to swear loudly. After hours working on his ship, Han was greased up, dusty, and sweaty, and in desperate need of another fresher. He ran through his cycle far quicker than that morning and threw on his clothes. With a wave goodbye to Chewie, he hopped into the car and drove as quickly as he could to the palace. When he pulled up, he found an angry princess and a much friendlier looking queen waiting for him on the steps, their bodies in identical formation with hands on hips, left foot tapping.

"Only thirty minutes late, not bad according to your spectrum, eh princess?"

She glowered at him in response. "Really, Han, we barely have time enough as it is."

Grandma Organa looked between them, frowning. "Now, now, Leia, there's no rush. Look around you! The sun is shining, the flowers are in full bloom, as is your love!"

Even Han grimaced at that last line, causing Grandma Organa to shrug and throw up her arms. "Can't blame a woman for trying. Did something happen between the two of you? Last night, you're all lovey dovey looking at each other in such amazement and today you can barely look at each other at all."

"Everything's fine, Grandmother, there's just a lot to be done. Let's go."

Leia moved to walk down the steps towards the car, but Grandma Organa stretched out her arm.

"Nu-uh, not with that attitude, darling."

"Grandmother, really-"

"If you two are going to act like this, then we aren't going."

"The two of us? I haven't done anything, but-"

"Oh, trust me, Captain, you've done plenty. In fact-"

"Alright, alright. Enough!" Grandma Organa took the picnic basket from the driver next to her and handed it to Leia. "Let's just go. Here, dear, hold onto this. Han, why don't you get in first? Neither of us want to scoot."

Han rolled his eyes but got back into the car without another word. Grandma Organa gestured to Leia to follow as the driver took his position at the wheel. Han and Leia were settling into their seats, making room for Grandma Organa as she shut the door with a squeal and yelled into them, "Have fun the two of you! And Bertrand! Don't let them come back until they've been given the full tour and enjoyed their picnic!"

Leia reacted first, thrusting the picnic basket towards Han and reaching for the door, but the car was already moving. The pair of them could only look back towards the diminishing castle as Grandma Organa stood back on the steps, waving.

"Bertrand," Leia tried, "Please take us back to the castle."

"Sorry, princess, but queen's orders. With that, he rolled up the window divider, leaving Leia and Han in silence.

"You could always make a jump for it," Han offered with a smirk.

"Oh, shut up." Leia sat back in the seat, crossing her arms and legs tightly, a large frown settling on her face.


	14. Chapter 14

She was determined not to speak or look at him. Her eyes focused on the views outside, she sat with her arms and legs crossed, her body pointed towards the window. She was waiting for him to speak to her, to try to strike up a conversation, but he remained silent, which was unsettling.

After a long few minutes of driving through the Alderaanian countryside, Leia offered him a cautious glance. It irked her that he was sitting so relaxed, a slight smirk on his face as he kept his view trained outside the window, his arms behind his head and legs stretched out long, which she observed was his go-to position when he wasn't in control of a ship.

"Like what you see, Princess?"

He still wasn't looking at her, but his words cut through the air, making her blush.

"The Alderaanian countryside has many beautiful sights to offer."

"Not what yer lookin' at though, is it?"

Now he did look at her, his eyes hitting hers, sparkling and intense.

"Don't flatter yourself."

He smirked wider.

"I wasn't looking at you, Han. I just happened to turn my head and you're right in front of me. Your big head is hard to miss."

Leia wished the flush that was spreading darker across her face wouldn't counteract her words. To her surprise, Han didn't press her further, but turned his attention back to the outside world.

After a few moments, she heard a whirring sound of the window. She turned to look at him again and found him playing with the controls, making the glass move up and down repeatedly. Rolling her eyes, she hissed at him.

"Would you stop that?"

Han gave her his best innocent expression. "Stop what?"

"You're going to break the window."

"I can't decide if I'm hot or cold. Come to think of it-" His eyes darkened, his smile wicked. "I can't tell if you're hot or cold either. What do you prefer?"

There was no mistaking the suggestion in his voice and despite herself, her blush crept over her again.

"Consider any matters having to do with you to be downright frigid."

"Ice princess, huh. I could get behind that. Doesn't look good to the public though. I dunno, Princess, you might wanna consider being a little nicer today. No telling who might catch a glimpse of us out here."

"Fortunately the windows are tinted."

"Not when they're rolled down they're not."

She was gritting her teeth, far more aggravated with him than she should have been, but Leia was used to having the final word in conversations. With him, there was no end.

"Leave it up then."

"Whatever Your Highness wants."

Hoping that was the end of it, Leia turned back to glance out the window, focused on her breathing and enjoying being outside for the first time in a long time.

"Tell me a little somethin'"

"About-?"

"Anecdotes. About the planet. Favorite spots? History? You know, conversation."

Reluctant at first to extend the conversation, Leia found herself gain momentum in her passion, relaying memories and stories she had heard over the years. Han turned out to be an excellent listener, oohing, aahing, and nodding in all the right places, asking insightful questions. The more that she talked, Leia felt her mind lighten.

Conversation turned from Leia's memories to Han's, from how he met Chewbacca; a brief, but eventful stay in the Imperial army; and to all the different systems he had been to over the years.

"Never in this capacity, though, sweetheart. I feel like a tourist."

"Sometimes, so do I."

"All business, you are. Y'know, Princess, relaxation looks good on you."

Leia flushed again, but this time, it felt much pleasanter. When he wasn't being an infuriating smart ass, there was something about Han Solo that intrigued and excited her, though she wasn't quite ready to admit that fully, especially to herself.

As she looked at him, the air in the car changed. Han shifted in his seat, pulling his feet in and his arms onto his lap as he sat up straighter. He leaned forward, closer to her, and Leia felt her heart beat quicken, her body leaning forward slightly in anticipation.

With a jolt, the car stopped short and Leia flew forwards onto Han. She shrieked, more from the unexpected contact rather than the sudden movement, but as she looked up, the breath went out of her. Han's expression was serious, far too serious, and her instincts told her to move out of his arms immediately.

He was so close, his voice was a whisper. "You okay?"

Leia could merely nod, their eyes locked. She felt her head move upwards, could feel his breath against her lips, and her eyes close in anticipation. As their lips touched, a bundle of emotions floated through Leia. The dichotomy of his soft, chapped lips against hers sent tingles down to her toes. Her head was fuzzy, her body humming. She felt Han's hands around her waist and she pulled her own arms free to wrap them in his hair.

The sound of whirring glass and a voice of concern broke them from their reverie.

"Princess! Are you alright? I'm sorry I- there was a-Oh! I'm sorry-"

Scrambling from Han's lap, Leia swatted away his hands that had been roaming upwards and moved to reclaim her seat across from him.

"Perfectly fine, Bertand. What's happened?"

"There was something in the road. It came out of nowhere and-"

The driver was as breathless as she felt, but for very different reasons.

"No worries, Bertrand, really. When you see fit, we can continue."

Bertrand nodded, recognizing that he was being dismissed, rolled the divider back up, and moments later, restarted the car. Leia was trembling, still reeling from the kiss and the mixture of disappointment and relief from being interrupted. It didn't help that Han was still sitting across from her, his gaze hot. She reached up to fix a curl that had fallen out of her loose braid and straightened the pale yellow sundress she was wearing. When she felt she was as collected as she could be under the circumstances, Leia dared to look up at him again.

* * *

><p>Han meant what he had said, even though his intention was to tease her. With him in particular, Leia was so hot and cold, he could barely keep up. Not that it wasn't exciting for one second to be arguing, blood boiling, tensions rising, passion hot, then the next to have her sitting in his lap, pressed up against him, lips touching, hands exploring. He liked when she broke her dignified royal behavior for him, or at least because of him, because she never did it around anyone else.<p>

Warning signals were blasting through his head, ears ringing, telling him that making this faux relationship with the princess into an actual one, in any capacity, was not only improbable, but very impractical. There were too many strings attached, too many factors involved. Han was certain that for her part, she had just been caught up in the moment. There were far too few things that could distract her from her cause and trips like these would run infrequently. It was a job, this whole thing, and he would try his damndest to remember that. Didn't mean he couldn't enjoy the fact that it happened.

This time, his smirk was involuntary, but when he caught Leia's eye, who was sitting straight, silent, and pointed, she turned quickly to the window, and his grin widened. There was so much he wanted to say to her then, ranging from serious to sarcastic, suggestive to downright crude. As he opened his mouth to implore her, the car stopped again, this time much more smoothly, though Leia flinched.

"What's got ol' Bertie flustered now?"

Leia scolded him with a look and he readied himself for a fight, but the door opened and Bertrand stood waiting for them with a picnic basket in one hand and several blankets under the other.

"All the finest foods, ma'am, your Grandmother assures me. I'll pull the car a little further down the road to offer the pair of you a little more privacy. There are of course a few more guards in the area who have checked things out, though your Grandmother gave strict orders to avoid bothering you if we can."

When Leia's face scrunched up, he could tell she was trying to keep from scowling. Instead, after a deep breath, she gave Bertrand a dignified smile and nod of approval.

"Thanks very much, Bertrand. I assure you we won't be very long. Unfortunately, there's much to be done and-"

"Oh, but, Your Majesty, your Grandmother has forbidden us from allowing you home until after you've seen the sunset."

In a far less dignified voice, Leia nearly hit her head as she stepped out of the car.

"She what!?"

"St-strict orders, ma'am. Sh-she said whatever work you had to do could wait until later. Th-th-that it's important to enjoy love, especially in your youth, and that if you needed any further convincing that Captain Solo would support me."

Han stepped out of the car behind her, took the basket and blankets from Bertrand, and clapped him on the back.

"Thanks very much, Bertrand. Don't mind her, she's been overworked lately. You're free."

Han was almost looking forward to the seething princess he would find once he watched Bertrand shuffle back into the car hurriedly and pull down the road, out of sight.

"That-that-ugh- that woman! She has no respect for my work. I tell her over and over again how important it is and yet she still treats me like I'm a little girl and none of it matters."

"To be fair, sweetheart, you are still young, none of it probably does matter in the end, and 'sides, she doesn't know it's for the Alliance. What sorta princess duties does she expect from you?"

"How dare you! Of course it matters."

"'M just sayin' that the Imperials hold a lot of power and despite noble efforts, it all seems a little futile, that's all."

"That doesn't mean we stop fighting or caring or trying. To do so, we'd lose all hope. And look at Luke! What he was able to do to the Death Star! That was a major blow to the Empire."

"Course with the kid-"

Leia ignored him and continued. "The more work we do, the more people we get involved on our side, and then we might even win. All those efforts are a win in themselves. We aren't just content to sit idly by and watch the destruction happen. Maybe if you put your energy into more worthwhile things, you might end up doing something noble."

She was standing with a hand on one hip, the other wagging a finger in his face and he couldn't help but remember the way those hands had felt in his hair, the way her lips felt against his. It would be so easy to step closer to her and kiss her. She would be unsuspecting and frazzled, but eventually she might even give in like she had done before. This time, there would be no one to interrupt them. Not until the sun set at least and that wasn't for hours.

Han took a step, but hesitated for too long. Leia was faster, perhaps her instincts on high alert now that they were completely alone. She stepped forward for a moment to take the blankets out of his hand and turned away from him.

Han watched as she flipped off her shoes and stepped from the concrete road to the sand and walked a way's down the beach. Once she had laid a few of the blankets down, too neatly and organized for what Han considered to be a picnic, she turned around again and waved for him to follow. He laid his shoes next to hers, rolled up his pants slightly, and enjoyed the soft, warm sand against his bare feet. Being at the beach, especially with the princess, felt bizarre, but not unwelcome.

When he reached the spot, he plopped down onto the blankets and opened the picnic basket. He waited for her to sit down, but when she didn't, he glanced up at her.

"This place is very special to me, Captain Solo. I may not be happy with the circumstances of the day, but I suppose that doesn't mean I can't at least try and enjoy it. If you would please refrain from any of your infuriating comments or habits for a few hours-"

"Because you're a slice o' sunshine, yourself."

Leia looked as though she had to try very hard not to roll her eyes and instead, took a deep breath. "Can we not fight here? Please? I have many fond memories and I do not wish for them to be tainted."

Han considered her for a moment, nodded his head, patted the seat beside him, and dug into the picnic basket, pulling out some sort of meat. He felt the vibrations of her sitting down beside him and held out the basket to her.

Regaining the momentum of their previous conversation was awkward in the beginning, but they found a steady flow, not realizing how quickly the hours were passing. After they had eaten their share of foods, and Grandma Organa had definitely gone all out with a meal fit for six, they had relaxed on the blankets for a long while.

Han could feel the eagerness in his body to move and explore and he was surprised when Leia joined him. They walked first to the water, the chillness of the water and air preventing them from going any further past their toes, then to the rocks that lay on either side, stretching for miles. Neither had much to say as they explored, Leia looking wistful and Han sharing privately in her nostalgia, a heavy loss for something he did not, perhaps would not ever experience.

As the day progressed, the air began to chill and the sun depart, but Leia was so focused on the ocean in front of her and Han was dutiful in his observations of her, unsure whether he had ever seen anyone look as beautiful as she did now. As though she could read his mind, she turned to face him. Han was standing a few feet back from her, allowing her space to appreciate, mourn, remember. There was a flash in her eyes and before he could recognize it, she was in front of him, throwing her arms around his neck and tugging his head down to meet hers.

This kiss was not the innocent, gentle caress in the car, but fueled with passion and unresolved tension pent up from the past few weeks. He matched her with equal fervor, lifting her up slightly, his arms around her waist, in her hair, moving upwards and downwards, he couldn't get enough. All of her, up against him, his body and mind stimulated beyond anything he had ever felt before from just a kiss.

Breathless, she broke the kiss, but remained close to him. As Han slowly came back to himself, he realized that the sun was hanging low and the goose bumps covering both of their skin was as much from the kiss they shared to the cool, night air.

"Come on, Captain. Or we might miss the sunset. Grandma Organa would be so disappointed."

Leia took his hand and though hers was so small in his, it seemed to fit perfectly, as she led him back to the blankets. Neither said a word, he was speechless, shell-shocked, and impressed. As darkness took over, he felt her lie down beside him and he joined her, staring up at the night sky. He wasn't certain if he had fallen asleep, drifting in and out of consciousness, when headlights shone in their direction, illuminating them and the beach. When he glanced at her, he found Leia was already looking at him, wearing a sheepish smile.

They packed up their things still in silence, taking their time walking up the beach. She put an arm on his shoulder to stop him from walking up to the car at the edge of the road and the beach and faced him.

"Thank you, Han," Leia whispered so quietly, Han wasn't sure he had heard her.

He tried to match the measure of her voice. "For what?"

In the dark, he had to squint to see her face, and was surprised to see tears sitting heavy on her eyelids.

"For saving my father, I'm not sure I've ever told you that. And for giving me another memory here. That never would have happened again, if it weren't for you."

She didn't give him time to formulate a response, but Han wasn't certain he would have been able to offer anything of meaning. He heard her thank Bertrand and get into the car. Standing still in his spot, the taste of Leia still on his lips, her words ringing in his ears, Han realized just how little control he had in this situation.

"Kest," he muttered, before following her into the car.

* * *

><p>Leia expected to face an eager and over-excited Grandma Organa when they returned, and she was feeling nearly giddy herself, perhaps even willing to divulge a few tidbits of the day with her grandmother, but instead, she found her father looking grave, waiting for them in the entry way of the castle. A tingle ran up her spine when she realized he was pacing.<p>

She saw a smile die on Han's lips at a joke they had just shared when he saw the serious expression of both Organas. With this, Leia's blood ran cold and she felt something inside of her shift.

"Father, what is it?"

"The Alliance, I'm afraid the Imperials have located the latest base and they've had to do a mass evacuation. Many made it out safely, but many too are still alive."

Leia's gasp caught in her throat and she heard Han groan next to her.

Bail continued, "In the meantime, they have had a back-up solution in place, but the planet and the area is not sustainable for long-term use. I'm afraid they are in desperate need for navigation. I very much wished it were not so, but I suggested, with your permission of course, that perhaps you and Captain Solo would be qualified candidates for such an endeavor. We have outlined a few potential places that you can fly to under the pretense that you are seeking honeymoon locations. It's not perfect, but it will do. Chewbacca would go with you for extra protection."

It was as though the day had not happened, for all Leia could focus on were the words pouring from her father's mouth. She could tell that he was already regretting having volunteered her, perhaps even for having allowed her to get involved with the Alliance in the first place, but Leia's resolve was tightening and she felt a jolt of joy and excitement at the opportunity to help the Alliance in a physical, active way.

"It would be an honor, father."

"Solo?" Bail asked, though it was more of a formality. They both knew Han would be just as eager as she was to go on an adventure.

"When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow. I suggest you get some rest. We've taken the liberty of preparing your ship for a long journey, Captain, with Chewbacca's supervision. I hope you don't mind. The best and the most we could fit. Watch over her, Han, please."

"I think she'll be the one watchin' over me, but I'll do my best."

The humor in his voice made Leia smile, which she shrugged away when she caught her father's eye. Sensing the need for a moment of privacy between father and daughter, Han excused himself and lumbered off to bed. Leia couldn't help but watch him go, a longing drumming deep within her for the day's events.

"You will be safe, darling? I know that you are thrilled to be performing a duty for the Alliance, but I must emphasize the importance of your safety first."

"I'll do my best. Is there much to discuss? I'll just change and meet you in your office?"

Bail smiled, but there was worry and sadness in his eyes.

"It can wait until the morning. You need to rest."

When he hugged her, it was as if he did not want to let go, but Leia wasn't ready for him to either. There was a sense of dread building in her stomach that she was working to ignore. With a final gentle squeeze, Bail kissed the top of her head and pulled away. Leia went to turn to head for her bedroom, but his words called out to her to stop her.

"And Leia, dear."

She looked at him over her shoulder.

"Do try and make time for your Grandmother before you leave tomorrow. She was so excited to hear all about your day that she had to put herself to bed early this evening. If you left before she got to hear any of it, well, I'm the one left dealing with the repercussions."

Leia couldn't help but smile, a gleam in her eyes, as she remembered that there were a few things Grandma Organa might find quite intriguing over breakfast. She fell into bed exhausted, content, and exhilarated for all that had happened and for what was ahead.


End file.
